Optimizing the interval for turbine generator inspection outages
- Radian International LLC, Austin, TX (United States)
- Northern Indiana Public Service Co., Wheatfield, IN (United States)
- Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co., Fenton, MO (United States)
The current trend in the utility industry is to increase the time interval between dismantle inspection outages of major components of large steam turbines and generators. The genesis of a competitive market is forcing utilities to find ways to cut operational and maintenance (O and M) expenses. Utilities are seeking relief by extending outage intervals past the five-year outage cycle historically recommended by domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for a dismantle inspection of their turbine generators. The criteria used to justify these extensions varies throughout the utility industry. The utility industry needs to better understand the consequences of extending time between overhauls and to quantify the associated risk of component failures. Many industry groups, including insurance carriers, are concerned over the short- and long-term effects of this new outage cycle philosophy (Dickens, 1995). With no experience pertaining to the effects of the extended time between outages, unit availability and reliability may be compromised. This paper discusses the current industry standards used to determine the time of major inspection cycles and presents a new tool to perform this task.
- OSTI ID:
- 549996
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961006-; ISBN 0-7918-1796-2; TRN: IM9753%%71
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 international joint power generation conference, Houston, TX (United States), 13-17 Oct 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of 1996 international joint power generation conference: Proceedings. Volume 2; PWR-Volume 30; Kielasa, L. [ed.] [Detroit Edison Co., MI (United States)]; Weed, G.E. [ed.] [Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY (United States)]; PB: 936 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Steam turbine-generator outage interval extension
Rotor retrofit boosts turbine output and efficiency by 1. 67%