Flexible Operation

What kind of generation load imbalances to compensate?

Anticipated Indian Scenario in 2022 with 100 GW Solar & 60 GW Wind
200000

180000

160000 289 GW Cap.

Available-coal

140000
Coal Gen.
146GW
120000 SOLAR
MW

100000
Ramp rates can be higher
with sudden onset of
80000 wind generation.
Can change significantly
60000 Solar with must with season
run condition
40000 46.3 GW
20000

0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95
15 Min Time block
All India Demand (MW) June'22 Solar Wind Nuclear Others Coal
 Flexibilization: The New Paradigm in Power Generation
From the generators point of view, the metrics
would be :
Quantity (MW) which is required to
Defining Defining from different perspectives be kept in reserves
Turndown
- Minimum boiler load:
Cycling capability
Metrics ( start-up to full load best achieved
Measuring Quantifying time taken)
-Very hot start-up: <1h
-Hot start-up: 1.52.5 h
Sources, options
-Warm start-up: 3-5 h
Operational -Cold start-up: 6-7 h
Preparedness for Coal based plants
-isation Ramp rate
-30-50% load: %/min
-50-90% load: %/min
Regulatory framework -90-100% load: %/min
Compensation/Incent Market structure and mechanisms
ivisation We can assign a flexibility index for each unit
based on the above parameters
 IMPACT OF PART LOAD
OPERATION

STABILITY EFFICEINCY

Flame Aux. Power

Stability Consumption

Drum Level
Stability Heat Rate
Operational Challenges during part load cyclic operation
At low load condition operator is often force to run following system/control loop is
manual mode for stable operation. Few example are :-
Seal steam controller

Flame stability

Handling tube mill

SADC,

burner tilt

MS temperature,

Re-heater temperature

Oxygen trimming

Air flow of top most mill

Stalling of axial fan (ID/FD/PA)

Maintain chemistry parameter ( condensate DO, silica, etc)

Effect of Part load cyclic operation on
equipment

Thermal Fatigue : Fluctuation in temperature in cyclic manner

Thermal Expansion : W ith the large variation of load as per requirement of the
grid the wear tear of equipments also increases which ultimately affect the reliability
of the unit

Corrosion-Related issue :Cyclic operation challenges the ability of a plant to

maintain water chemistry, which lead to increased corrosion and accelerated comp
onent failure

Rotor Bore Cracking : When subjected to transients in the temperature of the

admitted steam, the high-pressure and intermediate-pressure steam turbine rotors
can suffer thermo-mechanical stress excursions, resulting in low-cycle fatigue dam
age
Impact on Reliability

Equipment Impact
1. Thermal fatigue cracking in thick walled sections & valves
2. Increased BTL due to differential expansion
Boiler 3.Thermal fatigue cracking in SH & RH ligaments
4. Corrosion & fatigue can combine to accelerate damage to WW I
ncreased BTL

Deaerator 1. Stress corrosion cracking in weldments

1.Creep fatigue in MS & RH piping
Piping
2.Flow accelerated corrosion in steam piping
1. Thermal fatigue cracking in thick section rotors casing valve bodie
HPT & IPT s
2. Erosion of valve components
LPT 1.Moisture erosion of blading
1. Wear of copper insulation due differential expansion
Generator
2. Loosening of stator winding

Feedwater heaters 1.Thermal fatigue of thick sections of tube plates & end cover
Effect on Boiler Efficiency

BOILER EFFICIENCY VS LOAD

85.4
% BOILER E FFICIENCY

85.3
85.2
85.1
85
84.9
84.8
84.7
84.6
60 80 100
% LOAD-TMCR

From the tested data it is observed that for a 210 MW unit, boiler efficiency decre
ases by around 0.4 % with the reduction of 60 MW load
Effect on GTCHR

GTCHR Vs Load
2120
2100
GTCHR 2080
(KCAL/KWHR) 2060
2040
2020
2000
1980
1960
1940
105 126 147 168 189 210 LOAD (MW)

From the test data of Unchahar U#5 it was observed that with the reduction of 60 M
W load, GTCHR decreases by 54 Kcal /Kwh.
 Effect on Auxiliary Power Consumption

POWER CONSUMPTION IN KW
SL NO EQUIPMENT
AT 220 MW AT 155 MW
1 ID FAN 1054.409 686.8071
2 FD FAN 170.9277 116.4406
3 PA FAN 1155.431 1111.326
4 BFP 2911.35 2295.582

THE CHANGE IN AUXILIARY POWER CONSUMPTION WITH DECREASE IN LOAD (100% to 75%) = 1.2%
Financial Implication of Low schedule

Schedule (%) Loading factor (%) Heat rate (Kcal/KWh) APC (%)

93.31 97.26 2405 8.32

79.66 79.11 2459 9.23

Revenue Loss : 13.65 % reduction in schedule result in revenue loss of 242.75 Cr

Loss in marginal contribution :Marginal contribution of station reduced by 97

.24 % .

Station profit has reduced by 14.76% due to loss in marginal contribution

Effect on Performance Parameter
Unit heat rate is defined as ratio of GTCHR to Boiler Efficiency

.
GTCHR
Unit Heat rate = ------------------------------------X 100
BOILER EFFICIENCY

Description Unit At 160 MW At 220 MW Difference

Boiler efficienc
% 85.27 85.65 0.38
y

GTCHR Kcal/Kwh 2049 1995 54

Unit Heat Rate Kcal/Kwh 2403 2329 73

Operational Practices Improvement

Optimization of processes and parameter for better efficiency APC & stability
of unit at cyclic part load operation to use total available margin in the equ
ipments
Single BFP operation: At full load two BFP kept in service but at part load one BFP stopped, result is
saving of 1100 KW.

Single mill operation with tube mill: Two Mill kept in service but at part load single mill operation is bein
g done; result is saving of 1250 KW.

Mill optimization with bowl mills: With bowl mill 04 mill are in service at full load, at part load 03 mill in
Stg-I & 02 mill in Stg-III are kept in service, result in power saving of 250 KW.

Oxygen optimization: Oxygen was being maintained around 4.5-5 % during part load, now oxygen is
maintained at 3.5-4% at part load, result in saving of 200 KW in draft power & 10 Kcal in Heat rate.

Selective LRSB operation with cost benefit analysis to maintain Super heat & Reheat temperature.
Operational Practices Improvement Cont..

Installation of VFD : VFD installed to reduce throttling losses.

Burner tilt modulation

Control loop tuning for low load operation

R&M of control system for better control

Additional sensor/probe for close process monitoring

Fuel supply control logic upgrade

Reliability Improvement

Integration of updated technology for rigorous process monitoring to analyze the actual r
eal time condition of system. Few systems are:

Turbine Stress Controller (TSC)

Boiler Stress Monitoring System (BOSMON)

Blade Vibration Monitoring System (BVMS)

Stator End Winding Vibration Monitoring

Rotor Flux Monitoring

Partial Discharge Monitoring

Additional sensors for health monitoring

Maintenance Strategies
Opportunities are being fully utilized for carrying out maintenance jobs. Currently we
are doing following jobs during overhaul of the units which supports the stability & perf
ormance of unit at cyclic operation:-
Complete replacement of coal burner assembly
Time based replacement of expansion bellow of heaters
Thickness measurements & maintenance of high energy drain lines
Boiler tube replacement on the basis of Boiler Thickness survey
Regenerative heaters parting plate inspection & its replacement.
Inspection of last stage blades of LP turbine.
Turbine bearing inspection
Although above activity is being carried out in every overhauling, but they also support us in mitiga
ting the effects of cyclic operation.

We have to bring about a paradigm shift in OH/maintenance

strategy from time based to condition based. It should be based on wear & tear, vibration,
temperature & performance.
Design Modifications/ System Updation (Contn..)

More efficient equipment in a wide range of operation is to incorporated durin

g R&M and replacement of equipment. Following Modification and Retrofit ca
n be done in existing system for cost effective load cycling:--

Improved Instrumentation & automation

Increased Drainage

Sliding pressure control

Economizer re-circulation

Improved oil burner reliability ,stability and turndown

Advanced flame scanners

New, more reliable pulverizes

Additional oil burners at upper levels

 Loading rate Improvement

Improvement of Burning Characteristics

Vertical Pulverizer
Improvement of Steam Temperature Controllability
Three-stage of SH Spray
RH Inlet Spray, or Intermediate Spray
RH Bypass Steam Spray
Appropriate Capacity of Accessories
Pulverizer, Fan, Pump, Valve, etc.
Advancement of Control Equipment
Control deviation of steam temperature within 8 C
Eliminate sudden change of environmental value (NOx )

Load change rate ( High Load Range )

18
1 2 %/min. 3 5 %/min.
 Loading rate Improvement

Load change characteristics 1
2000 800

1750 100% L 50% L : 3%/min. 700

MWDMWt/h

Reheat
Steam Temp.

Temperature ()
(MW), Flow Rate (t / h)

1500 600

Main Steam Temp.

1250 500

1000 400

Feed Water Flow Rate

Steam
750 300

500 200
Output

Generator MWD
Output command
250 100

Fuel flow rate
0 0
19
Source: JPOWER, IHI
Optimization of minimum load

At low load of the mill,

pulverized coal at the
outlet of the mill is in a

Flow Rate, Air/Coal Ratio

lean condition with high
Air Flow
Air/Coal Ratio of primary
Fuel Flow
air, and oil support is
required. Unstable Combustion

Min. Vel. Stable Combustion

The minimum load of
With Oil Air/Coal Ratio
coal-firing without oil
Support Without Oil Support
support limited to 30
40% load. Load
20
Optimization of minimum load

In order to reduce the minimum

load of coal firing (without oil
A/C Ratio at Burner
support), it is necessary to (Concentrated)
increase the pulverized coal
concentration of primary air in
the burner. Expanded

By adding a primary air

concentration function to the
burner (Wide range burner),
stable combustion becomes
possible, making it possible to
reduce the minimum load of
coal firing (without oil support)
21
to 15 25% load.
Start-up time reduction

In order to shorten the startup time, it is

important to raise the turbine inlet steam
temperature quickly.
To that end, installing the following startup
bypass system
SH Bypass System
HP / LP Turbine Bypass System (RH
Cooling)
or Turbine Bypass System
Startup Time of Hot Start ( DSS )
120 180 min. ( Ignittion 100%L ) 22