U ni te d Dy na m ic s
Vo l um e 2 , Is su e 1
A dv a nce d T ec hno lo g ie s C o r po r a tio n
2 68 1 C or a l R i dge R d
B r o o ks , K Y 4 0 109
T H E I NS PEC TIO NE ER P O S T
Fueling the Minds of Electricity
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
 Key Tips to consider
while developing a
Boiler Inspection
Repair Prioritization
Program.
 Criteria concerns with
Operational variations.
Special point of interest:
Stephen Storm
serves as senior
consultant and team manager
for the alliance team of United
Dynamics “AT” Corporation,
David N. French Metallurgists,
Neundorfer, Inc. and Storm
Technologies. The purpose of
the alliance team is to assist
utility and industry clients in
resolving complex industry
challenges which demand a
holistic approach. The result of
this team approach provides
sustainable, reliable, efficient
and environmentally sound
operations.
Stephen Storm, Inc.
P.O. Box 398 | 234 Glenbrook Springs
New London, NC 28127
Mobile: (704) 796-2349
Office: (336) 461-3015
stephen@stephenstorm.com
United Dynamics “AT” Corporation
A proven industry leader in utility
boiler inspection and educational
training services. All UDC field
inspection assessors are trained and
certified through the AABA (American
Association of Boiler Assessors) and
consistently provide the highest
quality inspection services
available in the industry.
B O I L E R I N S P E C T I O N R E PA I R C R I T E R I A :
CONSISTENCY, TH RESHOLD S, AND KNOWING
WHEN TO IMPLEMENT ADJUSTMENTS.
Do you currently have a
criteria program by
which you follow to
justify repairs during unit
shutdowns?
Repair criteria thresholds play
a vital role in the overall main-
tainability of the boiler. This
criteria is even more critical
today than in previous years.
In today’s economy budgets
are tight and the amount of
repair work being performed
in some cases has diminished.
In lieu of this trend, it is even
more important that we man-
age our repair items, and put
our inspection criteria under
scrutiny. Understanding that
we cannot fix everything, we
need to maintain consistency
in how we justify our repair
items. The following 4 consid-
erations should be reviewed
prior to developing criteria for
a particular piece of
equipment:
1) Component specs (i.e.,
pressure, temperature,
soot blowers, fuel).
THE ALLIANCE TEAM
David N. French Metallurgists
A full service metallurgical lab
offering the latest technology
with a state of the art laboratory
facility, experienced staff,
publications, and educational
conferences. DNFM is available
to provide all of your
metallurgical service
solutions.
2) Number of years in
service.
3) Number of years/months
before next scheduled
overhaul.
4) Wastage rates
Understanding the equipment
being evaluated will play the
leading role in your criteria
selection. On a percentage of
remaining wall thickness, you
may be willing to experience
greater degradation before
reaching repair threshold as a
result of differing pressures
and temperature exposure.
The existing life timeframe of
the piece of equipment is also
important. Wastage rates can
be used to determine remain-
ing life using more than 1
data point. The length of time
before the next scheduled run
is also important. Repair
criteria should be adjusted
when run durations increase.
Simply put, if you have to run
longer without a tube leak,
you will need to upgrade your
repair criteria on the
scheduled overhaul.
Storm Technologies, Inc.
A full service and results-oriented
engineering firm providing boiler
consulting services, comprehen-
sive testing and firing system
optimization components. Storm’s
manufacturing division provides
high quality performance parts
and components for various
applications.
Fe b r u ar y 9 , 2 0 1 1
The Name Behind The Flame
Combine wastage rate
calculations with time, and
you can not only establish the
repair criteria, you can also
then establish end of life
estimations. End of life
estimations can be reached;
however, be cautious of
operating elements such as
fuel switching, soot blower
operational changes, load
variations, etc.
Another key factor to consider
in regard to criteria is consis-
tency. We have to remain
consistent on our criteria
thresholds and selection.
Budgets are limited and man-
power can be scarce at times
on our overhauls. Use your
criteria to effectively address
higher priority items earlier
Continued on next page
Neundorfer, Inc.
A consulting organization serving
power utilities and process-based
heavy industry. The qualified
staff of Neundorfer offers exten-
sive knowledge and practical
hands-on experience on
electrostatic precipitators,
fabric filters (baghouses)
and flow modeling.
 U n i t e d D y n am i c s
A d v a n c e d T e c h n ol o g i es
2681 Coral Ridge Road
Brooks KY, 40165
Phone: 502-957-7525
Fax: 502-957-5441
E-mail: Sales@udc.net
Visit on the web
www.udc.net
The Name Behind The Flame
What “Priority Designation” would
you assign to this inspection
item?
Written By:
Jon Santino Cavote
Chief Operating Officer/President
Sherri L. Hart
Manager Sales, Marketing, Education
Looking Ahead...
Fossil Generation HRSG Generation Wind Generation Biomass Generation
The future of the power generation industry as a whole will likely be redefined in our
lifetime. The picture of the future trends are emerging and the new direction for the
industry is becoming clearer. We, as leaders are obligated to take a closer look at
the various resources available for power production.
The positive effect of the cleaner coal technologies will no doubt play an important
role in the forward momentum and serve as an avenue for smooth transition to new
sources of power generation.
The current trend across the industry is the adoption of unit cycling along with
constant fuel changes, aging existing units and push for continued operation with
fewer shutdowns due to minimized budgets. The result: A call for a holistic approach
to maintenance practices. This holistic approach will tie together all the areas of
operations in order to optimize these valuable assets.
The overall picture of plant efficiency, availability, emissions and safety which are
solely determined by process inputs and outputs from the coal yard to the stack,
propel the dynamic of this holistic approach. The decision making process for the
maximization of the life of our assets demands we do not suffer lost opportunity.
Therefore we must take into consideration all economic and operating benefits
involved in the overall process and weigh the available options to strategically
manage the asset.
Communication across all areas of generation as well as data compilation and cross
referencing is a must as we move forward to the most efficient power production
possible.
CONTINUED FROM PAG E 1
In the shutdown. Use your Utilize a repair criteria that
criteria to prevent performing fits your program; for exam-
lower priority repairs while ple, some systems will use
canceling higher priority Priority 1, 2 ,3. While other
repairs at the end of the over- elect to use A, B, C. The
haul due to time and funding. important factor to con-
sider is the interpretation of
those criteria lists. Priority 1
for example, should reflect a
certain tube failure or
safety concern before the
next scheduled shutdown.
A breakdown within each
criteria could also be a
benefit. For example, UDC
currently uses an
“Inspection Prioritization
Matrix” that qualifies each
and every repair to better
The inspection team leader or equip the team leader, and
boiler system owner can use allow for optimized deci-
the inspection items found sions. Some P1 repairs may
and the criteria designation be of greater concern based
applied to develop the plan of on the severity and/or ac-
action on these items. cessibility options available.