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Howtoconductaplantperformancetest
09/15/2006|TinaL.Toburen,PE,andLarryJones,McHale&AssociatesInc.

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SavetomyPOWER

Completingapowerplantsstart-upandcommissioningusuallymeanspushingtheprimecontractortowrapuptheremainingpunchlistitemsandgettingthe
newoperatorstrained.Staffersaretiredofthelonghourstheyveputinandarelookingforwardtosettlingintoaworkroutine.

Justwhenthejobsiteisbeginningtolooklikeanoperatingplant,agroupofengineersarriveswithlaptopsinhand,commandeerstheonlysparedeskinthe
controlroom,andbeginstounpackboxesofprecisioninstruments.Inafitofcontrolledconfusion,theengineersinstalltheinstruments,findprimaryflow
elements,andmaketherequiredconnections.Wiresaredraggedbacktothecontrolroomandterminatedatarowofneatlyarrangedlaptops.Whenthetest
begins,thetestengineersstareattheirmonitorsasiftheywerewatchingtheSuperBowlandtradecommentsinsomesortoftechno-geeklanguage.Theplant
performancetesthasbegun(Figure1).

1.Tradingspaces.Thisisatypicalsetupofdataacquisitioncomputersusedduringaplantperformancetest.Courtesy:McHale&Associates

Anatomyofatest
Thetypeandextentofplantperformancetestingactivitiesaretypicallydrivenbytheprojectspecificationsortheturnkeycontract.Theyalsousuallyarelinkedtoa
keyprogresspaymentmilestone,althoughthevalueofthetestsgoeswellbeyondlegalese.Thetypicaltestisdesignedtoverifypowerandheatrateguarantees
thatarepeggedtoanagreed-uponsetofoperatingconditions.Soundssimple,right?Butthebehind-the-scenesworktoprepareforatestonwhichperhaps
millionsofdollarsareatstakebeyondthecontractguaranteesalmostcertainlyexceedsyourexpectations(seebox).

Performancetesteconomicsareoverpowering

Considera500-MWfacilitywithaheatrateof7,000Btu/kWh.Whenoperatingatbaseloadwithan80%capacityfactor,theplantwillconsumeover24million
mmBtuperyear.Atafuelcostof$8/mmBtu,thatsnearly$200millioninfuelcostsfortheyear.

Ifaninstrumentationorcontrolerrorraisestheheatrateofthefacilityby0.5%,thatwouldcosttheplantanadditional$1millioneachyear.If,ontheotherhand,a
misreportedheatratecausesthefacilitytobedispatched0.5%lessoften,reducingthecapacityfactorto79.5%,thelossesinrevenueat$50/MWhwouldamountto
nearly$1.1millionfortheyear.

Performancetestscanbringtherightpeopletogetheratthefacilitytoidentifylossesinperformanceandtorecaptureorpreventsuchlossesinfacilityprofits.

Longbeforearrivingonsite,thetestteamwillhave:

Gatheredsiteinformation.

Reviewedtheplantdesignfortheadequacyandproperplacementoftesttapsandforthetypeandlocationofprimaryflowelements.

Developedplantmathematicalmodelsandtestprocedures.

Metwiththeplantowner,contractor,andrepresentativesofmajororiginalequipmentmanufacturers(OEMs)toironoutthemyriaddetailsnotcoveredby
contractspecifications.Experiencedownerswillhavemadesurethattheplantoperationsstaffisincludedinthesemeetings.

Testsarenormallyconductedatfull-loadoperationforapredeterminedperiodoftime.Thetestteamcollectsthenecessarydataandrunsthemthroughthe
facilitycorrectionmodeltoobtainpreliminaryresults.Usuallywithinaday,apreliminarytestreportorletterisgeneratedtoallowtheownertodeclare"substantial
completion"andcommencecommercialoperation.Theresultsforfuelsampleanalysis(and/orashsamples)areusuallyavailablewithinacoupleofweeks,
allowingthefinalcustomerreporttobefinishedandsubmitted.

Theartandscienceofperformancetestingrequireveryspecializedexpertiseandexperiencethattakeyearstodevelop.Thescienceofcrunchingdataisdefinedby
industrystandards,buttheartrestsintheabilitytospotdatainconsistencies,subtleinstrumenterrors,skewedcontrolsystems,andoperationalmiscues.The
experiencedtestercanalsoquicklydeterminehowtheplantmustbeconfiguredforthetestsandcananswerquestionssuchas,Willthesteamturbinebein
pressurecontroloratvalveswideopeninsliding-pressuremode?Whatcontrolloopswillneedtobeinmanualorautomaticduringtesting?andAtwhatlevel
shouldtheboilerorductburnersbefired?

Forthenovice,itseasytomissa0.3%errorinoneareaandanoffsetting0.4%errorinanotherareathattogetheryieldapoorresultiftheyarentresolvedand
accountedfor.Withmillionsofdollarsontheline,theresultshavetoberocksolid.

Mid-termexams

Therearemanyreasonstoevaluatetheperformanceofaplantbeyondmeetingcontractguarantees.Forexample,aperformancetestmightbeconductedonan
oldplanttoverifyitsoutputandheatratepriortoanacquisitiontoconclusivelydetermineitsassetvalue.Otherperformancetestsmightverifycapacityandheat
rateforthepurposeofmaintainingapowerpurchaseagreement,biddingaplantproperlyintoawholesalemarket,orconfirmingtheperformancechanges
producedbymajormaintenanceorcomponentupgrades.

Performancetestsarealsoanintegralpartofaqualityperformancemonitoringprogram.Ifconductedconsistently,periodicperformancetestscanquantify
nonrecoverabledegradationandgaugethesuccessofafacilitysmaintenanceprograms.Performancetestsalsocanberunonindividualplantcomponentsto
informmaintenanceplanning.Ifacomponentisperformingbetterthanexpected,theintervalbetweenmaintenanceactivitiescanbeextended.Iftheoppositeis
thecase,additionalinspectionorrepairitemsmaybeaddedtothenextoutagechecklist.

Whateverthereasonforatest,itsconductshouldbedefinedbyindustry-standardspecificationssuchasthePerformanceTestCodes(PTCs)publishedbythe
AmericanSocietyofMechanicalEngineers(ASME),whosewebsitewww.asme.orghasacompletelistofavailablecodes.FollowingthePTCsallowsyouto
confidentlycomparetodaysandtomorrowsresultsforthesameplantorequipment.Here,repeatabilityisthenameofthegame.

ThePTCsdontanticipatehowtotesteveryplantconfigurationbut,rather,setgeneralguidelines.Asaresult,someinterpretationofthecodesintentisalways
necessary.Infact,thePTCsanticipatevariationsintestconditionsandreportingrequirementsinacode-complianttest.Thetestleadermustthoroughly
understandthecodesandtheimplicationsofhowtheyareappliedtotheplantinquestion.Variancesmustbedocumented,andanytestanomaliesmusteitherbe
identifiedandcorrectedbeforestartingthetestorbeaccountedforinthefinaltestreport.
Aperformancetestinvolvesmuchmorethanjusttakingdataandwritingareport.Moretimeisspentinplanningandinpost-testevaluationsofthedatathanon
theactualtest.Followingisabriefsynopsisdescribingtheprocessofdevelopingandimplementingatypicalperformancetest.Obviously,thedetailsofaparticular
plantandtherequirementsofitsownershouldbetakenintoaccountwhendevelopingaspecifictestagenda.

Planningforthetest

TheASMEPTCsareoftenreferencedinequipmentpurchaseand/orengineering,procurement,andconstruction(EPC)contractstoprovideastandardmeansof
determiningcompliancewithperformanceguarantees.TheASMEcodesaredevelopedbybalancedcommitteesofusers,manufacturers,independenttesting
agencies,andotherpartiesinterestedinfollowingbestengineeringpractices.Theyincludeinstructionsfordesigningandexecutingperformancetestsatboththe
overallplantlevelandthecomponentlevel.

Planningaperformancetestbeginswithdefiningitsobjective(s):thevalidationofcontractualguaranteesforanewplantand/ortheacquisitionofbaselinedata
foraneworoldplant.Asmentioned,partofplanningismakingsurethattheplantisdesignedsoitcanbetested.Designrequirementsincludedefiningthe
physicalboundariesforthetest,makingsurethattestportsandpermanentinstrumentationlocationsareavailableandaccessible,andensuringthatflow
meteringmeetsPTCrequirements(ifapplicable).

Afterthedesignoftheplantisfixed,theobjectivesoftestingmustbedefinedanddocumentedalongwithaplanforconductingthetestandanalyzingitsresults.A
well-writtenplanwillincludeprovisionsforbothexpectedandunexpectedtestconditions.

Understandingguaranteesandcorrections

ThemostcommonperformanceguaranteesarethepoweroutputandheatratethattheOEMorcontractoragreestodeliver.Determiningwhethercontractual
obligationshavebeenmetcanbetricky.Forexample,aplantmaybeguaranteedtohaveacapacityof460MWataheatrateof6,900Btu/kWhbutonlyundera
fixedsetofambientoperatingconditions(referenceconditions).Typicalreferenceconditionsmaybeahumidsummerdaywithabarometricpressureof14.64
psia,anambienttemperatureof78F,andrelativehumidityof80%.

Theintentoftestingistoconfirmwhethertheplantperformsasadvertisedunderthosespecificconditions.Buthowdoyouverifythataplanthasmetits
guaranteeswhenthetestmustbedoneonadrywinterday,withatemperatureof50Fand20%relativehumidity?Thechallengingpartofperformancetestingis
correctingtheresultsfordifferencesinatmosphericconditions.OEMsandcontractorstypicallyprovideambientcorrectionfactorsasasetofcorrectioncurvesor
formulasfortheirindividualcomponents.Butitisoftenuptotheperformancetestengineerstointegratethecomponentinformationintotheoverallperformance
correctioncurvesforthefacility.

Thereferenceconditionsforperformanceguaranteesareuniquetoeverysite.Asimple-cyclegasturbinesratingsassumeitsoperationunderInternational
StandardizationOrganization(ISO)conditions:14.696psia,59F,andrelativehumidityof60%.Theconditionoftheinletairhasthebiggestimpactongasturbine
basedplantsbecausethemassflowofairthroughtheturbines(andconsequentlythepowertheycanproduce)isafunctionofpressure,temperature,and
humidity.Performanceguaranteesforsteamplantsalsodependonairmassflow,buttoalesserextent.

Thebarometricpressurereferenceconditionisnormallysettotheaveragebarometricpressureofthesite.Ifagasturbineplantissitedatsealevel,itsbarometric
pressurereferenceis14.696psia.Forthesameplantatanaltitudeof5,000feet,thereferencewouldbe12.231psia,anditsguaranteedoutputwouldbemuch
lower.

Therelativehumidityreferenceconditionmayormaynothaveasignificantbearingonplantperformance.Ingasturbineplantstheeffectisnotlarge(unlessthe
inletairisconditioned),butitstillmustbeaccountedfor.Theeffectofhumidity,however,ismorepronouncedoncoolingtowers.Veryhumidambientairreduces
therateatwhichevaporationtakesplaceinthetower,loweringitscoolingcapacity.Downstreameffectsareanincreaseinsteamturbinebackpressureanda
reductionintheturbine-generatorsgrosscapacity.

Themostimportantcorrectionforgasturbineplantperformancetestsinvolvescompressorinletairtemperature.Althoughasitesbarometricpressuretypically
variesbynomorethan10%overayear,itstemperaturesmayrangefrom20Fto100Fovertheperiod.Becauseairtemperaturehasadirecteffectonairdensity,
temperaturevariationchangesaunitsavailablepoweroutput.Foratypicalheavy-dutyframegasturbine,a3-degreechangeintemperaturecanaffectitscapacity
by1%.Atemperatureswingof30degreescouldraiseorlowerpoweroutputbyasmuchas10%.Theeffectcanbeevenmorepronouncedinaeroderivative
engines.

ISO-standardoperatingconditionsorsite-specificreferenceconditionsarealmostimpossibletoachieveduringanactualtest.Accordingly,plantcontractorsand
ownersoftenagreeonabaseoperatingconditionthatismoreinlinewithnormalsiteatmosphericconditions.Forexample,agasturbineplantbuiltinFlorida
mightbetestedatreferenceconditionsof14.6psia,78F,and80%.Establishingarealisticsetofreferenceconditionsincreasestheoddsthatconditionsduringa
performancetestwillbeclosetothereferenceconditions.Realisticreferenceconditionsalsohelpensurethattheguaranteeisrepresentativeofexpectedsite
output.
Establishingsite-specificreferenceconditionsalsoreducesthemagnitudeofcorrectionstomeasurements.Whenonlysmallcorrectionsareneededtorelate
measuredperformancefromtheactualtestconditionstothereferenceconditions,thecorrectionmethodsthemselvesbecomelesspronetoquestion,raising
everyonescomfortlevelwiththequalityoftheperformancetestresults.

Beyondsiteambientconditions,thePTCsdefinenumerousothercorrectionfactorsthatthetestdesignermustconsider.Mostaresite-specificandinclude:

Generatorpowerfactor.

Compressorinletpressure(afterlossesacrossthefilterhouse).

Turbineexhaustpressure(duetothepresenceofaselectivecatalyticreductionsystemorheat-recoverysteamgenerator).

Degradation/firedhours,recoverableandunrecoverable.

Processsteamflow(exportandreturn).Blowdown(normallyisolatedduringtesting).

Coolingwatertemperature(ifusingonce-throughcooling,orifthecoolingtowerisoutsidethetestboundary).

Condenserpressure(ifthecoolingwatercycleisbeyondthetestboundary).

Abnormalauxiliaryloads(suchasheattracingorconstructionloads).

Fuelsupplyconditions,includingtemperatureand/orcomposition.

Choosetherightinstrumentation

Instrumentationusedtorecordtestmeasurementsshouldbeselectedbasedonapre-testuncertaintyanalysis(see"Understandingtestuncertainty").This
analysisisimportanttofine-tunetheinstrumentationtoensurethatthequalityofthetestmeetsexpectations.Thetestinstrumentsthemselvesareusuallya
combinationoftemporaryunitsinstalledspecificallyfortesting,permanentlyinstalledplantinstrumentation,andutilityinstrumentation(billingorrevenue
metering).Temporaryinstrumentsaretypicallyinstalledtomakekeymeasurementsthathaveasignificantimpactonresultsandwherehigheraccuracyisneeded
toreducetheuncertaintyoftestresults.Amongtheadvantagesofusingapieceoftemporaryinstrumentationisthatithasbeencalibratedspecificallyforthe
performancetestinquestionfollowingNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology(NIST)procedures.

Anotherbenefitofinstallingtemporaryinstrumentationistoverifythereadingsofpermanentplantinstruments.PlantinstrumentationtypicallylacksNIST-
traceablecalibrationorhasbeencalibratedbytechnicianswhoaremoreconcernedwithoperabilitythanwithaccurateperformancetesting.Theresagood
reasonfortheformer:Performingacode-levelcalibrationonplantinstrumentationcanbemoreexpensivethaninstallingtemporarytestinstrumentation.An
additionalbenefitofacompletetemporarytestinstrumentationsetupisthattheinstrumentation,signalconditioningequipment,anddataacquisitionsystemare
oftencalibratedasacompleteloop,asisrecommendedinPTC-46(OverallPlantPerformance).

Allperformanceinstrumentsshouldbeinstalledcorrectly,andanydigitalreadingsshouldberoutedtoacentrallocation.Choosingagoodperformancedata
centerisveryimportant.Aperformancecommandcentershouldbeoutofthewayofsiteoperationsyetcloseenoughtoobserveplantinstrumentationinputand
operation.

Obviously,performanceinstrumentreadingsshouldbecheckedagainstthoseofplantinstruments,whereavailable.Thisisoneofthemostimportantchecksthat
canbemadepriortoaperformancetest.Whenaperformancetestercangetthesameresultfromtwodifferentinstrumentsthatwereinstalledtoindependent
testportsandcalibratedseparately,theresagoodchancethemeasurementisaccurate.Iftheresadifferencebetweenthereadingsthatisclosetoorexceeds
instrumenterror,somethingislikelytobeamiss.

Typically,whenplantguaranteesaretiedtocorrectedoutputandheatrate,thetwomostimportantinstrumentreadingsaremeasuredpowerandfuelflow.If
eitheriswrong,thetestresultswillbewrong.Forexample,sayyouretestingaunitwhoseexpectedoutputis460MW.Theplantinstrumentisaccuratetowithin
1%,andthetestinstrumentisevenmoreaccurate:+/0.3%.Inthiscase,thetesterpreferstoseethetworeadingswellwithin1%ofeachother(4.6MW)butthey
stillmaybeasfarapartas5.98MW(1.3%)andtechnicallybewithintheinstrumentsuncertainty.

Whensettingupforaperformancetest,itisnotuncommontofinderrorsinpermanentplantinstrumentation,controllogic,orequipmentinstallation.These
errorscaninfluencetheoperationofageneratingunit,forexamplebycausingover-orunderfiringofaboilerorgasturbineandsignificantlyimpactingtheunits
outputandheatrate.Incaseswheretheimpactonactualoperationcontinuesundetected,thecorrectedtestreportvaluesmaystillbeinerrorduetocorrections
madebasedonfaultyinstrumentreadings.Ifthesereportedvaluesareusedasthebasisoffacilitydispatch,asmallerrorcouldhaveanenormousimpactonthe
plantsbottomline,rangingfromerroneousfuelnominationstotheinabilitytomeetacapacitycommitment.

Understandingtestuncertainty
Uncertaintyisameasureofthequalityofthetestorcalculationresult.Apretestuncertaintyanalysiscanbeusedto
designatesttomeetpredefineduncertaintylimits.Apost-testuncertaintyanalysisshouldbeperformedtoverifythat
thoseuncertaintylimitsweremetandtodeterminetheimpactofanyrandomscatterrecordedinthetestdata.

Eachinputtothecalculationmustbeanalyzedforitsimpactonthefinalresult.Thisimpactisidentifiedasthe
sensitivityoftheresulttothatinput.Forexample,ifinletairtemperaturechangesby3degreesF,andthecorrected
outputchangesby1%,thesensitivityis1%per3degreesFor0.33%/degreeF.

Theinstrumentationinformationisusedtoidentifythesystematicerrorpotentialforeachinput.Forexample,a
precision4-wireresistance-temperaturedetectorcanmeasureinletairtemperaturewithanaccuracyof+/-0.18F,
basedoninformationprovidedbythemanufacturerandasconfirmedduringperiodiccalibrations.

Duringatestrun,multiplerecordingsaremadeforanygivenparameter,andtherewillbescatterinthedata.The
amountofscatterinthedataisanindicationoftherandomerrorpotentialforeachinput.Forexample,duringa1-
hourtestrun,theinletairtemperaturemayberecordedasanaverageof75F,withastandarddeviationinthe
measurementsof0.6F.

Ifmorethanonesensorisusedtomeasureaparameter,therealsowillbevariancesbetweensensorsbasedon
location.Thesevariancesmaybeduetothevarianceseitherintheinstrumentationorintheactualparameter
measured.Forexample,ifairtemperatureisbeingmeasuredbyanarrayofsensors,theremaybeeffectsdueto
groundwarmingorexhaustventsinthearea,eitherofwhichwouldaffecttheuncertaintyofthebulkaverage
measurement.Thesevarianceswillaffecttheaverageandstandarddeviationvaluesforthatparameter.Spatial
variancesareaddedintothesystematicerrorpotential,basedonthedeviationofeachlocationfromtheaveragevalue
foralllocations.

Nowthatwevedefinedthethreeseparateinputstotheuncertaintydeterminationsensitivity(A),systematicerror
potential/uncertainty(B),andrandomerrorpotential/uncertainty(C)itstimetoputonourstatisticianshats.

Thetermscanbecombinedinthefollowingequation:

Uncertainty=SQRT[(AxB)2+(txAxC)2]

The"t"valueontherightsideoftheequationisknownastheStudent-tfactorandisbasedonthenumberofdegrees
offreedom(ornumberofdatapointsrecorded)inthedataset.Fora95%confidenceintervalanddatatakenat1-
minuteintervalsfora60-minutetestrun,thevalueof"t"is2.0.Ifdataaretakenlessfrequently(suchasat2-minute
intervals),fewerrecordingsaremadeandthereforeeitherthetestrunmustbelonger(whichisnotrecommended,
becauseambientconditionsmaychange)orthevalueof"t"willincrease.

Theexamplegivenaboveisforasingleparameter,suchasinletairtemperature,anditseffectoncorrectedoutput.
Foreachcorrectionmade,thesameprocessmustbecarriedouttodeterminethesensitivity,systematicuncertainty,
andrandomuncertaintyofthecorrectedresultonthatcorrectionparameter(suchasbarometricpressureandrelative
humidity).

Onceeachindividualuncertaintyhasbeenidentified,theycanbecombinedtodeterminetheoveralluncertaintyofthe
correctedresult.Combiningtheindividualuncertaintiesisathree-stepprocess:

Determinethetotalsystematicuncertaintyasthesquarerootofthesumofthesquaresforalltheindividual
systematicuncertainties.
Determinethetotalrandomuncertaintyasthesquarerootofthesumofthesquaresforalltheindividualrandom
uncertainties.
Combinethetotalsystematicuncertaintyandtotalrandomuncertaintyasfollows:Totaluncertainty=
SQRT[(systematic_total)2+(txrandom_total)2].
Theresultoftheanalysisisanexpressionstatedintermsoftheuncertaintycalculatedforanindividualinstrumentor
theoverallsystem.Wemightnormallysay,"Theinletairtemperatureis75F,"butwhenincludinganuncertainty
analysisofatemperaturemeasurementsystem,amoreaccuratestatementwouldbe,"Weare95%certainthatthe
inletairtemperatureisbetween74.6Fand75.4F."

Onceagain,thevaluefor"t"willdependonthedesignofthetest,includingthenumberofmultiplesensorsandthe
frequencyofdatarecordings.AdditionalinformationontheStudent-tfactoraswellasadiscussionofhowto
determineuncertaintycanbefoundinASMEPTC19.1(TestUncertainty).

Conductthetest

Theperformancetestshouldalwaysbeconductedinaccordancewithitsapprovedprocedure.Anydeviationsshouldbediscussedanddocumentedtomakesure
theirimpactisunderstoodbyallparties.Ifthetestisconductedperiodically,itisimportanttoknowwhatdeviationswereallowedinpreviousteststounderstandif
anychangesinperformancemighthavebeenduetoequipmentchangesorsimplytothesetupofthetestitself.

Calibratedtemporaryinstrumentationshouldbeinstalledinthepredeterminedlocations,andcalibrationrecordsforanyplantorutilityinstrumentationshouldbe
reviewed.Checkanydatacollectionsystemsforproperresolutionandfrequencyanddopreliminarytestrunstoverifythatallsystemsareoperatingproperly.

Theperformancetestshouldbeprecededbyawalk-downoftheplanttoverifythatallsystemsareconfiguredandoperatingcorrectly.Itsimportanttoverifythat
plantoperationsareincompliancewiththetestprocedurebecauseequipmentdisposition,operatinglimits,andloadstabilityaffecttheresults.Datacanthenbe
collectedforthetimeperiodsdefinedinthetestprocedureandcheckedforcompliancewithallteststabilitycriteria.Oncedatahavebeencollectedandthetest
hasbeendeemedcomplete,theresultscanbesharedwithallinterestedparties.

Becausetheshortpreliminarytestmaybethemostimportantpartoftheprocess,besuretoallowsufficienttimeforitinthetestplan.Thepreliminarytestmust
bedoneduringsteady-stateconditionsfollowingloadstabilizationorwhentheunitisoperatingatsteadystateduringtheemissionstestingprogram.The
preliminarytesthasthreeobjectives:toverifyalldatasystems,tomakesuremanualdatatakersarereadingthecorrectinstrumentsandmeters,andtohavethe
datapassa"sanitycheck."

Afterthetestdatahavebeencollected,thereadingsshouldbeenteredintothecorrectionmodelassoonaspossibleandcheckedforteststabilitycriteria(as
definedbythetestprocedure).Atthispoint,dependingonthecorrectionmethods,thetestdirectormaybeabletomakeapreliminaryanalysisoftheresults.If
thenumbersarewayoutofwhackwithexpectedvalues,agooddirectorwillstartlookingforexplanationspossibly,errorsintherecordeddataorsomethingin
theoperationalsetupoftheunititself.Thougheveryoneisconcernedwhenaunitunderperforms,aunitthatperformsunexpectedlywellmayhaveproblemsthat
havebeenoverlooked.Forexample,aunitthatcorrectedtestresultsindicatehasa5%capacitymarginmayneedtohaveitsmeteringcheckedandrectified,orit
mayhavebeenmistunedtoleaveitinanoverfiredcondition.

Althoughanovertunedgasturbinemayproducemoremegawatt-hoursduringinitialoperations,thegaincomeswithaprice:increasingdegradationoftheunits
hotsection,shorteningpartslifeandincreasingmaintenancecosts.Themostcommonmistakeintestingisacceptanceofresultsthataretoogood.Ifresultsare
bad,everyonelooksfortheproblem.Iftheresultsareabovepar,everyoneishappyespeciallytheplantowner,whoseemstohavegottena"super"machine.
However,theresareasonforeveryexcursionbeyondexpectedperformancelimitsforbetterorworse.

Ifallthepretestchecksaredoneproperly,theactualperformancetestshouldbeuneventfulanddownrightboring.Itshouldbeassimpleasverifyingthattest
parameters(load,stability,etc.)arebeingmet.Thisiswherethereallygoodperformancetestersmaketheirworklookeasy.Theyappeartohavenothingtodo
duringthetest,andthatstruebecausetheyplanneditthatway.Havingdoneallthe"real"workbeforehand,theycannowfocusonmakingsurethatnothing
changesduringthetestthatmayaffectthestabilityofthedata.

Analyzetheresults

Almostimmediatelyaftertheperformancetest(andsometimesevenbeforeitiscomplete),someoneissuretoask,"Doyouhavetheresultsyet?"Everyonewants
toknowiftheunitpassed.Assoonaspractical,theperformancegroupshouldproduceapreliminaryreportdescribingthetestanddetailingtheresults.Data
shouldbereducedtotestrunaveragesandscrutinizedforanyspuriousoutliers.Redundantinstrumentationshouldbecompared,andinstrumentationshouldbe
verifiedorcalibratedafterthetestinaccordancewiththerequirementsoftheprocedureandapplicabletestcodes.

Thetestrunsshouldbeanalyzedfollowingthemethodsoutlinedinthetestprocedure.Resultsfrommultipletestrunscanbecomparedwithoneanotherforthe
sakeofrepeatability.PTC46(OverallPlantPerformance)outlinescriteriaforoverlapofcorrectedtestresults.Forexample,iftherearethreetestruns,aqualitytest
shoulddemonstratethattheoverlapiswellwithintheuncertaintylimitsofthetest.

Oncetestanalystsaresatisfiedthattheresultswereproper,thetestreportcanbewrittentocommunicatethem.Thisreportshoulddescribeanyexceptionstothe
testprocedurethatmayhavebeenrequiredduetotheconditionsofthefacilityduringthetest.Intheeventthattheresultsoftheperformancetestarenotas
expected,thereportmayalsosuggestpotentialnextstepstorectifythem.
Forsiteswherethefuelanalysisisnotavailableonlineorinrealtime,apreliminaryefficiencyand/orheatratevaluemaybereportedbasedonafuelsampletaken
daysorevenweeksbeforethetest.Dependingonthetypeandsourceofthefuel,thispreliminaryanalysismaybesignificantlydifferentthanthatforthefuel
burnedduringthetest.Itsimportanttounderstandthatpreliminaryheatrateandefficiencyresultsareoftensubjecttosignificantchanges.Oncethefuel
analysesareavailableforthefuelsamplestakenduringthetest,afinalreportcanbepreparedandpresentedtoallinterestedparties.

TinaL.Toburen,PE,ismanagerofperformancemonitoringandLarryJonesisatestingconsultantforMcHale&Associates.Toburencanbereachedat425-557-
8758ortina.toburen@mchale.org(mailto:tina.toburen@mchale.org);Jonescanbereachedat865-588-2654orlarry.jones@mchale.org
(mailto:larry.jones@mchale.org).

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withdraw-obama-era-effluent-limitations-
guidelines-rule/)

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@benpaulos
DroughtcostCalif$2.5Bfromlossoflowcost
hydro,says@PacificInstitut.Mylatestfor
@POWERmagazine.powermag.com/drought
hasbi

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VIDEOS&INFOGRAPHICS

Vogtle Unit 3 Reactor Vessel Tim...

ThefirstnuclearreactorvesselatthePlant
VogtleexpansionnearAugusta,Ga.,hasbeen
placedinsideUnit3,markinganothermajor
milestoneforthemuch-watchedproject.This
time-lapsevideoshowsconstructioncontractors
WestinghouseandFluorCorp.liftingthe306-ton
reactorvesselintoitspermanentlocationinside
theAP1000unitsnuclearislandonNovember
23.Thevessel,fabricatedbyDoosanHeavy
IndustriesinSouthKoreawasshippedtothe
constructionsitefromthePortofSavannahona
specializedrailcar,saidGeorgiaPoweron
November30.Readmore
(http://www.powermag.com/reactor-vessel-
placed-inside-vogtle-unit-3/)

Visitourvideoarchive(/power-video-
archive/)
 April27,2017

MostU.S.nuclearpowerplantswere
builtbetween1970and1990

Source:EIA,PreliminaryMonthlyElectricGeneratorInventory

INDUSTRYNEWS

Volkswagenreveals1.0TGITurborunning
onnaturalgasinVienna
(http://www.inautonews.com/volkswagen-
reveals-1-0-tgi-turbo-running-on-natural-
gas-in-vienna)

PROPOSALSSOUGHTFORPOTENTIAL
ENERGYSTORAGEFACILITYAFTER
SUCCESSFULINTERESTSOLICITATION
(http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/proposals-
sought-potential-energy-storage-facility-
after-successful-interest-solicitation)

WindturbinemaybeaddedtoRossbus
garage(http://www.post-
gazette.com/local/north/2017/04/28/Wind-
turbine-may-be-added-to-Ross-bus-
garage/stories/201704210020)

Considerthebenefitsofnaturalgas
development(http://www.post-
gazette.com/opinion/letters/2017/04/28/Consider-
the-benefits-of-natural-gas-
development/stories/201704280082)

Anaturalgasroyaltyrevisionhaslefta
Pennsylvaniafamilypaying$5,700
(http://powersource.post-
gazette.com/powersource/policy-
powersource/2017/04/28/Chesapeake-
royalty-deduction-Forba-Pennsylvania-
Marcellus/stories/201704270030)

INDUSTRYPRESS

(http://www.powermag.com/press-
releases/pge-and-other-california-energy-
companies-propose-reforms-to-support-
the-states-clean-energy-goals-protect-
customer-choice-and-ensure-customer-
equality/)