Understanding the impact of operating with low feedwater heater levels - Energy-Tech Magazine: Reliability/Availability/Maintainability

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12

Understanding the impact of

operating with low feedwater heater
levels
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Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2012 12:00 am

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By Jonathan Hicks, Greg Alder and Iver Jacabson

Operating feedwater heaters without paying attention to

proper heater level is sort of like operating your car
without keeping track of the air pressure in the tires.
Things will seemingly be just fine, but if the air pressure
is not correct the car performance will be affected, and
eventually significant damage to the tires will result. The
importance of routine vehicle maintenance is relatively
well understood and we attempt to take good care of our
vehicles. It is a good idea to take the same type of care
when it comes to feedwater heaters in a power plant.
Significant damage to feedwater heaters can result from
Understanding the impact of long-term heater level issues that have gone unnoticed.
operating with low feedwater Proper adjustment of level is a form of preventative
maintenance that can support years of reliable heater
heater levels operation.

Figure 1. Detail of the drain cooler section

So why use feedwater heaters?

Before we get into the problems caused by low level

operation, let’s look at what heaters do for us.

Most steam power plants use closed shell-and-tube type

feedwater heaters. Feedwater heating plays a
significant role in improving the efficiency of Rankine
power cycles. Feedwater heaters, as their name implies,
pre-heat the feedwater before it enters the boiler. So
how do feedwater heaters improve the cycle efficiency?
They add what is called reversibility to the cycle. A
reversible cycle is a process that can be “reversed” by
using infinitesimal changes in some property of the
system, in this case temperature, without the loss or
dissipation of energy. A completely reversible cycle is
impossible, of course. But using feedwater heaters to
transfer heat across small temperature differences to
the feedwater (or condensate) instead of a single large
temperature difference increases reversibility. Although
steam is robbed from the turbine train to heat feedwater
in this fashion, it provides increased efficiency.
Energy-Tech E-Edition

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Understanding the impact of operating with low feedwater heater levels - Energy-Tech Magazine: Reliability/Availability/Maintainability

You might look of it this way: The temperature entering Read or download the August
and exiting the boiler drum and evaporator essentially 2018 digital edition of Energy-Tech
doesn’t change. However, changing subcooled water to steam takes enormous energy. magazine, and visit our digital
edition archive.

Bringing the temperature up reduces the energy needed to change the water to steam, thus reducing fuel READ IT NOW
consumption. So heating the water using steam extracted from the turbine, which has already converted part of its
available energy to useful work, decreases the energy to change water to steam.

Feedwater heaters levels

Popular
Now that we see the importance of feedwater heaters in the cycle, let’s discuss maintenance.
Stories

Operating a feedwater heater with a low level during a long period of time can damage the heater’s internals. The
type of damage is dependant on the design of the heater and its operating environment. In sever cases, tube ASME: Steam turbine valve testing,
leaks, damage to drain cooler shroud and other internal problems can result in the need to operate at non-ideal
inspection and maintenance to avoid
conditions or even remove the heater from service. Many power plants have experienced forced unit power
reductions or shutdowns, and eventually premature replacement or major repair of the heater, all of which are turbine overspeed events
expensive.
Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing
Because of this, the feedwater heater level controls should be monitored closely to ensure the proper operating (PAUT) as an alternative to
level is maintained. One of the most damaging environments in a steam cycle is when steam and water are
introduced together and must pass through a torturous path. Normally, on the shell side of the heater, steam Radiographic Testing (RT)
enters and slightly subcooled condensate exits the heater drain. Internally, steam enters a desuperheating zone (if
applicable), then a condensing zone and finally a drain cooling zone. If steam was to pass into the drain cooling
Machine Doctor: Reciprocating
section and subsequently the drain outlet, then this destructive environment of steam and water combination
occurs. As the steam condenses on the cooler tube surfaces, the bubble collapse in a water environment can compressor vibration problem
induce high vibrations and erosive damage similar to cavitation, which will wear the heater tubes, drain cooler
baffles, tie rods, shroud and the drain cooler end plate.
Residual unbalance test

The drain cooling section exists to subcool the shell side condensate before it exits the heater and is critical to the
health of the heater. Turbomachinery Balancing Basics

More
A general layout of the drain cooling section can be found in Figure 1 for a typical horizontal feedwater heater. The
drain cooler inlet is at the bottom of the heater, with many older heaters using a “snorkel,” extending into a well or
capped nozzle at the bottom of the shell to increase the submergence of the drain cooler entrance. The drain
cooling section acts like any common drinking straw. A pressure differential exists between the heater shell and
the destination pressure, which is lower, and condensate is drawn up and through the section. While the shell
condensate passes through the cooling section, it navigates a set of baffles and is cooled by the tube side
feedwater. In this analogy the snorkel is like the bottom of the straw, with the level control system maintaining the
condensate level above the drain cooler entrance and below the heater tubes. A level must be controlled to cover
this snorkel or the drain cooler entrance adequately and prevent steam ingress to the drain cooler zone.

Proper heater level control begins at instrumentation and controls

Good level control starts with an assessment of the heater instrumentation and control mechanisms and benefits
from a basic understanding of the drain cooler construction and purpose. This brings us to the first instrument of
concern, the level gauge and set points. Under steady state conditions a heater’s level might not be uniform from
end to end. Sometimes it takes the shape of a parabola.

Therefore the level gauge should be located near the drain cooling zone section, and the level control set points
should be set relevant to the condensate level at the entrance to the drain cooler. Industry News
This is what we want to protect.
Solar and wind dominate
power generation
Additional causes for inaccurate level measurement might be: capacity additions
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis Global
Power Industry Outlook, 2018 reveals
A localized steam velocity profile across the top equalizing leg tap, causing reduced pressure in the equalizing
that a combination of factors led by
line
renewables is set to t…
Condensation in a long top equalizing leg
Loop seals trapping condensate in the top equalizing leg

Sediment buildup
Blockage or partial valve closure in the lower leg
Or high points trapping gas in the lower leg

With accurate level measurement, controls should be able to adjust drain valve position to regulate flow and
maintain the proper level for all loads. In some cases, level controls have been found to maintain level at high
loads, but have not provided stable level control at lower loads. Level controllers might not provide stable level

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Understanding the impact of operating with low feedwater heater levels - Energy-Tech Magazine: Reliability/Availability/Maintainability

control for a wide variety of reasons and might result in fluctuating or erratic drain temperatures. Load variations
are common in fossil-fired power plants so it is important to evaluate the heater level behavior from higher to lower
loads.

Monitoring key performance indicators

Aaron Merkin joins Aclara
as company's first chief
To prevent issues with low feedwater heater levels and to reduce alarm frequency, heater levels are sometimes
technology officer
set high. As the heater level increases, the tubes in the condensing zone begin to be covered. This reduces the
size of the feedwater heater and reduces plant efficiency, resulting from poorer heat transfer. Optimizing the level Aclara Technologies (“Aclara”), supplier
does two things – prevent damage to the drain cooler components and maintain good heat transfer efficiency. of smart infrastructure solutions (SIS) to
electric, gas and water utilities,
announces that Aaron Me…
There are two performance indicators relative to heater level and heat transfer performance that should be
monitored. These are:

Frost & Sullivan

Drain Cooler Approach (DCA)
recognizes Aclara
Terminal Temperature Difference (TTD) Technologies with
technology leadership
The DCA is equal to the drain outlet temperature minus the tube-side inlet temperature, Tdrain – TFW,inlet. The award
DCA can be effectively used as an input for determining the optimum normal operating level. For example, an
increase in level will decrease the DCA, resulting from decreased drain outlet temperature. Conversely, a decrease Based on its recent analysis of the smart
in level, especially to the point where steam enters the drain cooler, will cause the DCA to sharply increase. A energy networks market, Frost & Sullivan
typical design value for DCA is 10°F, but some plants designed to operate at this value are seeing +25°F values, recognizes Aclara Technologies LLC
indicating a potentially low level operation that could be leading to damage. (“Aclara”) with the …

When calculating DCA, the available instrument locations should be evaluated. In some cases the feedwater inlet
temperature to a heater is taken as the outlet temperature from the previous heater. This reading might be prior to
OMEGA Engineering appoints Joe Vorih as
any bypass lines that will decrease the actual inlet temperature in the presence of a leak. Also, stratified flow can
sometimes lead to inaccurate readings. This is particularly so with tube-side outlet temperatures.
president
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Joe Vorih as
President of OMEGA Engineering, Inc., a pioneer in the design,
The TTD is equal to the feedwater heater shell-side steam saturation temperature (at the operating shell pressure)
manufacture and di…
minus the tube-side outlet temperature, Tsat,shell – TFW,out. An increase in TTD indicates reduced heat transfer.
TTD increases results from several internal issues such as tube sheet bypass, fouling, etc. A high drain level
begins to cover tubes in the condensing section and will increase TTD. However, to increase the TTD resulting
More Industry News
from level, the level would need to be quite high. DCA is the best index for level monitoring.

In summary, DCA is an indicator of level issues and TTD is an indicator of heat transfer issues. Products

Determining an optimum normal operating level Innovative safety

ballcheck valves for liquid
A level control test may be performed to determine the optimum operating level for a feedwater heater by manually level gages announced
altering the heater level and recording the DCA and TTD responses. Figure 2 shows what is called a knee curve Clark-Reliance Corporation has
relating these parameters. The curve illustrates that lowering the level results in increased drain temperatures and
announced a major improvement in
subsequently DCA. When the drain cooler is uncovered, there is a sudden step up in drain temperature and DCA
isolation valves for liquid level gages.
resulting from steam entering the drain cooler, which is shown on the left side of the graph. TTD can be seen to
Jerguson® 360 Series safety ballcheck…
have a lesser impact from level. The figure shows that for this particular heater, the drain cooler entrance (snorkel)
became uncovered when the level drops to 5.5?. It also shows the condensing section tube coverage begins
around 13?. Based on these test results, normal level control can be adjusted to an optimum operating range
between 7?-9? based on actual level measurement, regardless of the “design” level. Selecting a new optimum
operating level control range includes consideration of the existing high-level dump control valve, alarm and Ultra reliable high / low
bypass switch settings, as well as their range of adjustment and control, both prior to performing the level control water boiler alarm
test, as well as prior to establishing a new normal control range. The knee curve in Figure 2 is a generic example. switches announced
Each feedwater heater will have unique behavior relating level, location of level indicators, and the DCA and TTD Clark-Reliance Corporation has
performance indices. announced a new family of level switches

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Understanding the impact of operating with low feedwater heater levels - Energy-Tech Magazine: Reliability/Availability/Maintainability

for boiler and tank applications. The new

It is important for the optimum operating level to also consider the impacts of periodic changes to normal or full- Reliance® Levalarm® Gold lev…
power operating conditions, such as start-up and shutdown, transient operation, heater strings out-of-service, low
load operation and similar conditions. Adjustments or tuning of level control valve feedback or gain settings might
also be appropriate to reflect the dynamics of the system response to a new normal operating control range.
Heater level tests should be considered whenever there are indications of level related problems with the Honeywell introduces
feedwater heater, as well as if there have been significant changes made to the heater or its operation, such as power automated change
tube plugging or uprates. management software for
industrial customers
Performing a feedwater heater level control test should include careful preparation and planning, as well as Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS)
detailed communications with plant operations personnel. This preparation should provide confidence that changes announced the introduction of a powerful
and their potential consequences are evaluated for station response to normal and transient conditions. In the documentation and change management
event a heater has sustained drain cooler shroud damage, the knee on the knee curve will shift to the right in software that will help its cus…
proportion to the extent steam in-leakage is occurring, until the damaged area has been covered. In extreme cases
the heater level might need to be as high as the mid-line of the feedwater heater to cover the drain cooler if
damage to the shroud or endplate is higher on the drain cooler. Operating at such a level is likely to be impractical
from an instrumentation control range and operations would need to carefully consider the potential consequences Spectro Scientific wins patent for coolant
of a tube leak and flash-back on turbine water induction and/or overspeed protection measures. Obviously, a high
and diesel exhaust fluid measurement
heater level decreases thermal performance.
method
Spectro Scientific, one of the world’s largest suppliers of oil, fuel,
After the level tests
and processed water analysis instrumentation and software, has
been awa…
In the event level tests indicate operation with a higher than normal level and control range is warranted, additional
actions beyond the changes to the level control parameters should be considered. Visual inspection might be
warranted in cases where damage is indicated to the drain cooler shroud. The use of other non-destructive More Product News
inspection methods or data, such as Eddy Current testing, should be evaluated to determine if it might yield an
adequate understanding of the damage to avoid a shell cut to support a thorough visual inspection (see Figure 3).
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Eddy current testing has the potential to identify damage to tubes in the drain cooler, as well as degraded baffle
plates and end plates, but would not reveal damage to the drain cooler shroud or entrance. This must be visually
inspected (see Figure 4) either by use of a boroscope or other more intrusive methods. It is possible that operation
with an increased normal operating level will sufficiently address the causes of accelerated tube damage, such that
heater reliability is restored to an extent that shell cuts to facilitate visual inspection can be avoided. Additional
corrective maintenance actions also are possible to address conditions such as excessive end plate openings Calendar
without cutting the heater shell. Following the heater level test and a review of available tube NDE (non-destructive
examination) data, an informed decision may be made concerning the justification of additional inspection, repair
and/or replacement actions.

November 2018
Conclusion

Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Feedwater heaters are a valuable asset to plant efficiency and can affect reliability. Proper maintenance of level
control equipment and operating with optimum level will prevent expensive repairs and downtime and will provide         1 2 3
years of reliable heater operation.
4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Jonathan Hicks is a consulting engineer for the Thermal Performance Division at True North Consulting. He joined 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
the company in 2011 and has 6 years of consulting experience, providing service and application support in the
areas of thermal, electrical and mechanical performance. Hicks has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Engineering from Colorado State University in 2006. You may contact him by e-mailing
editorial@woodwardbizmedia.com. 25 26 27 28 29 30  

Greg Alder is a senior consulting engineer with True North Consulting Power Services Division, with primary
responsibility in Plant Thermal Performance. He has more than 22 years of experience in thermal performance,
providing consulting services to fossil, nuclear and combined-cycle generating plants. Alder has a bachelor’s
degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho. You may contact him by e-mailing
editorial@woodwardbizmedia.com.

Iver Jacabson is a senior consulting engineer with True North Consulting and has more than 20 years of
experience in the power industry. His areas of technical expertise include heat exchangers, NDE analysis, balance
of plant systems and service water systems. Jacabson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical
Products
Engineering from the University of Missouri. You may contact him by e-mailing editorial@woodwardbizmedia.com.
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Understanding the impact of operating with low feedwater heater levels - Energy-Tech Magazine: Reliability/Availability/Maintainability

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