DrumLevelControl

DrumLevelControl
Myths,Facts,andOtherMinutiae
OvertheyearsIhaveseenandheardagreatmanydebatesregardingtheproperwaytosetupdrumlevel controls.Eachpersonpresentingtheirargumentoftenhasaveryconvincingreasonfortheirparticularclaim.Butinthe end,itistheactualresultsthatmatter.SothequestionIwillanswerhereis,Whatmethodofdrumlevelcontrol providesthebestresults? Theshortanswer.ThatDepends.Thecontrolofdrumlevelismuchmorecomplexthanasimpleanswercan provide.InordertohelpyouunderstandwhichcontrolmethodisbestforyouIwillfirstneedtoexposesomeofthe physicsinvolvedwithadrumandhowitrespondstotheeverchangingconditionsofyourplant.DontworryIwillkeep themathtotheabsoluteminimumsoyoucanputdownyourcalculusrefreshersandreadon. LetsstartatthebeginningwithWhichdrumlevelmeasurementdoIbelieveanyway? ThisisoneofthebiggestandmostoftenaskedquestionsIruninto.TheEyeHidisplaysonevalue,thegauge glassshowssomethingelse,thetransmittersareanothervalue,andtheDCSdisplay.Wellthosetransmittersnever agree!Letstakealookatwhythisconfusionhappensandwhatcanbedonetodispelit. ASMEpressurevesselcoderequiresthattwo,independentmethodsofdrumlevel measurementbevisibleatalltimestotheoperators.Normallyoneofthesemeasurementsis accomplishedwiththeEyeHiorsimilarindicators.Thetwomostcommoncausesoferrorwith thisformofmeasurementareimpropermountingofthemeasurementcolumn,andimproper insulationofthiscolumn.TheZeroindicationofthemeasurementcolumnmustbemounted levelwiththeboilerOEMSnormaloperatinglevelpointforthedrumandnotthecenterlineofthe drum.Thissimplemistakecanresultinalarge,6ormoreinches,errorinthereading. TheinsulationofthemeasurementcolumnmustalsobeproperlyinstalledpertheOEMs recommendations.Oftenitisfeltthatifwekeepthecolumncool,byleavingtheinsulationoff, theprobeswilllastlongerandmaintenancewillbereduced.TheOEMofthecolumn understandstheenvironmentitwillbeinstalledinandhasdesignedthesystemtoworkatthese highertemperatures. Whydoestheinsulationbeingoffeffectthereadingsyouask?Thewaterinthedrumis atthesaturationtemperaturefortheoperatingpressure.Wecanusesteamtablestolookupa coupleofnumbersandseewhathappens.Whentheinsulationisremoved,thetemperatureof thewaterinthecolumnchangesrapidlyandsodoesitsdensity.Thischangeindensitycauses thelevelinthecolumntobeatadifferentphysicalplacethantheactualwaterinthedrum.Lets takealookatthosesteamtablenumbers. ControllerTuning&Design,LLCN8414FoxRunRoad,WisconsinDells,WI53965Page1of10

Figure1

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DrumLevelControl
Speakingofwaterdensity!Letsuse1800psiasanexample Measurement Saturation Column Temperature Temperature 621F Density lbm/ft3 40.47 200F 60.12

Asyoucanseethisdensitychangecanmakeadramaticdifferenceinthemeasurementyoucansee.Somake surethattheEyeHiColumnisproperlyinsulatedandmounted. Bytheway(orBTWforyoutexters),thesamesituationappearswiththemagneticfloat gauges.Theyareoftenmountedwrongorinsulatedwrongcausingevenmoreconfusion. Leveltransmittersareadifferentcase.Manyunitswillhave2or3differentialpressure transmittersthatareusedtoconveythisseeminglyconfusinginformationtotheDCSscreensinthe controlroom.Thetransmitterisclearlynotatthedrumtemperatureyetwewanttobelievethis transmitteraboveallothers.WellyoushouldbelieveitbecausetheDCS,ifithasbeenproperly configured,willdeterminethepresentpressureandtemperatureinthedrum(itdoesthisby measuringthedrumpressureandcalculatingthesaturationtemperature)andappliesa compensationfactorbasedontheaveragetransmittertemperature.AhHa!yousay,another error!Astheambienttemperaturechangestheindicateddrumlevelwillchange.True,Iconfess, youareright!From33Fto120Fthedensitywillchange1.1%.Sofromtheaveragetemperature of87Fthedensitychanges+/0.55%oraboutinchoflevel. Aswithanythingelsethetransmittersmustbeproperlyinstalledinorder provideyouwithanaccuratemeasurement.Acondensatepotthatisnot insulated,isrequiredonthetopmeasurementtap.Thiscondensatepotprovides aproperreferencemeasurementlegforcontinuedreliability. Toseeaproperlyinstalleddrumlevelmeasurementtransmitter,takea lookatthepictureontheleft. Aniceshinycondensatepot!Theguardcageistowellguardyouhands fromtouchingthepot. Heattracingonthesensinglines!Niceshadeofred! Noticealsothataninsultedcoverisaddedtoprotectthetransmitter. Ifyourunitisshutdownoften,thenyoucanfillthereferencelegwith propyleneglycolasanantifreeze.
Figure3

Figure2Photo

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SoWhatIsGoingOnInthatDrumAnyway? Awholelotmorethanyoumightthink.Thedrumisavery dynamicandturbulentarea.Understandingwhatisgoinghereisvery importantifyouaretocontrolthelevelaccurately.Wehavecold feedwatercomingin,hotsteamgoingout,waterleavingthedrumfrom onesideandwatermixedwithbubblesrisingontheotherside.Forevery poundofsteamthatleavesthedrumwemustaddapoundofwaterin ordertomaintainthedesiredlevel. Wheneverythingisbalanced,asshowntotheleft,thenthelevel isrelativelyconstantandstable.Isayrelativelybecausethebubblesthat arecomingbackuptheevaporatorsectionwillcausewavesinthedrum. OntheDCSwewillseethisasanoisysignalorsometimeasanoffsetor differencebetweenthetransmitters.Wellcomebacktothisoffsetina littlewhile. Thebubbling,asitincreasesanddecreases,changesthevolume ofwaterinthedrumbutnothemass.Themassofthedrumchanges Figure4 withtheamountofsteamexitingthedrumandtheamountoffeedwater enteringthedrum. ButAllIDidWasRaisetheSteamTurbineMegawatts! Howmanytimeshaveweheardthisfollowedshortlybythedrumlevelcontrolwasdoingtheoppositeofwhat itshouldhavebeendoing.Letshavealookathowthiscanpossiblyhappen. Whenweopenthecontrolvalvesonthesteamturbinethefirstthingthat happensisasuddenpressuredropjustupstreamofthevalves.This pressuredropworksitswaybackupthepipingandsometimelater(this canrangefrom1to10ormoresecondsdependingonthegeometryofthe plant)thisdropinpressurereachesthedrum.Whenthedrumpressure drops,theboilingpointofthewaterinthedrumandevaporatoralso drops,buttheheatinputtothefurnaceremainsthesamesomore bubblesform.alotmorebubbles.Somanymorebubblesthatthe waterinthedrumisactuallypushedupbytherisingbubbles.Atthistime however,thewaterinventoryinthedrumhasnotchanged.Onlythe bubbleshaveincreased,thevolumehasgoneup,andthelevelhasgone up.Thisiswhymanyoperatorswillrunwithadrumlevelof6or9 inches.Theyfeelthatthisgivesthemmoreroomincaseofanupsetand thusavoidahighleveltrip.However,theboilermanufacturesdonotlike thissincetheyhavespentalotoftimefiguringouttheproperlevelfor bestoperationoftheboiler.

Figure5

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Nowrememberopeningthosepeskycontrolvalves?Wellsodoesthedrum.Nowthatthepressurewaveis completethesteamflowwillstartpickingup.Thisincreaseinsteamflowwillstarttoreducethemassinventoryof waterinthedrum.Sadlyataboutthesametime,thepressureinthedrumhasrestabilizedandthebubblingratehas returnedtoitspreviousvaluewhichmeans.Thebubblesarenotpushingthewaterupsothevolumeofwatergoes downandsodoesthelevel.Atthesametimethesteamleavingthedrumismakingthemasswaterlevelgodown.But thereisonemorewhammythatcanaddinsulttoinjuryhere. MydrumlevelwasgoingdownsoIopenedthefeedwatervalveandtheunittrippedonlowlevel! Ifyouwereaddingmorewaterwhydidthelevelgodown?Backtothe bubblemaker. Soherewearewithanicehotdrumthathasjustlostabunchofbubbles andthevolumehastogodownandthesteamflowhasincreasedwhich makesthedrummasslevelgodownevenmore.Sothenaturalreactionis toopenthefeedwatervalveandpourinnicefreshcoolwater.Whenyou addcoolwatertoboilingwatertheboilingstopsforafewmomentsuntil thetemperaturecanrestabilize. Soopeningthefeedwatervalvereallycanmakethelevelgolowerfora fewseconds.Thisfewsecondsoflowerlevelisbecauseoftworeasons. Firstthequenchingoftheboilingratecausesatemporarydecreaseinthe bubblesthatareliftingthewaterandincreasingthevolumewhichwill recover.Andsecond,ifthefeedwaterflowenteringthedrumisgreater thanthesteamflowleavingthedrum,themassinventoryinthedrum mustbeincreasingregardlessofthechangeinbubblingrate.
Figure6

AndYetAnotherDynamicintheDrum.. Wellitsnotreallyinthedrum,butitdoesdirectlyaffectthedrumwaterlevel.Thisadditionaldynamicisthe heatinputtotheboiler.OneofthemanymythsIhaveheardisthattheheatinputintoacoalplantisdifferentthanthe heatinputtoanHRSG.Really?Ithinknot.Heatisheatweatheritiscomingfromgeothermal,solar,gas,oil,coal, nuclear,orsomethingelse,itisstillheat.Yesthemethodoftransformationofthefuelintoheatvariesandyesthere aresubtledifferencesbetweenboilerdesigntypes;however,awaterwallboileroperatesprettymuchthesameasan HRSGdrumevaporator. ControllerTuning&Design,LLCN8414FoxRunRoad,WisconsinDells,WI53965Page4of10

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DrumLevelControl
ChangingtheFiringRateChangestheBoilingRate. Whenthefiringrateincreasestheboilertubesstartcreatingmorebubbles.Aswehaveseenabove,more bubblesmeansahigherlevelbecauseoftheincreasedvolume.Themassinventoryofwaterinthedrumhowever, remainsthesameforaperiodoftime.Theincreasedfiringratecausesanincreaseindrumpressurewhichdecreases thesizeofthebubblesandincreasesthesteamflow.Theresultisanincreaseinvolumecausingthewaterleveltorise forafewsecondsfollowedbyafurtherdropinlevelduetothesteamflow. Whenwestartunloadingauniteverythingreverses.Wedecreasethefiringratesotherearefewerbubblesand so,lesslevelduetolessvolumesothelevelgoesdownforafewseconds,lessdrumpressure,andlesssteamflowwhich means,higherwaterlevelinthedrum. Lessontobelearned.Thingsarenotalwaysastheyappear! SoHowDoIControlTheDrumLevelandNotTripthePlant? Beforewecananswerthatquestionweneedtotalkabouttheelements!NotEarth,Wind,Fire,andWater,well okaywedoneedtotalkaboutwater,andfire,hmmmandwind,argggandinthecaseofacoalplant,earth. AnelementisjustsomethingthatwemeasureandwithaDCSwemeasurealotofelements.Someoftheones weareinterestedinareFeedwaterFlow,SteamFlow,DrumLevel,DrumPressure,FiringRateorCTGMegawatts.Each oneoftheseelementshasaneffectontheprimaryelementwearetryingtocontrol,theDrumLevel. WeUseSingleElementOnlyBecause.. IfIgotpaideverytimeIheardasentencestartingthiswayIwouldnotneedtowritethispaper.Themost commonstatementsare, SingleElementisourcompanystandard. ThreeElementwasnevercommissioned Threeelementdoesnotworkonthistypeofboiler(strangeIhearthataboutalltypesofboilers) ThreeElementjustdoesnotworkandshouldNeverbeused ThreeElementcontroldoesnotprovideanyadvantageoversingleelement IhavebeenatXXnumberofplantsandweneverusedThreeElementcontrol Alloftheseanswers,exceptthelastone,aremyths.ImaybeprovenwrongbutIhaveyettofindacompany thathasmadesingleelementtheirstandardforboilerdrumlevelcontrol.Astothelaststatement,Icannotspeakto othersexperiencebut,iftheattitudeofthefirst5statementsprevailitisnowondersomeonehasneverseenthree elementcontrolused. Ihavehadplantpersonnelatacoalplantoperatinginsingleelementtellmethatthreeelementisonlyfor combinedcycleplantsbecauseofthetypeofheatused.(Hopefullythismakesyouscratchyouheadinwonder).Ihave alsoheardfrompersonnelatcombinedcycleplantsthatthreeelementcontrolisonlyforcoalplantsbecauseofthe typeofheatused. ControllerTuning&Design,LLCN8414FoxRunRoad,WisconsinDells,WI53965Page5of10

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DrumLevelControl
Whatallofthesestatementstellmeisthatifyoudonotunderstandthefundamentalsofaboilerandaboiler drum,threeelementcontrolwillnotworkandyouwillmakesureitdoesnt.This,incombinationwithpoortuning practices,leadstothisstandardofsingleelementcontrol. SowhatisSingleElementandThreeElementControlanyway? SingleElementcontrollooksonlyatthedrumleveltransmitters.Ithasnoinformationabouttherestof theplant. ThreeElementcontrollooksatDrumLevel,FeedwaterFlow,andSteamFlow.Withthisadditional information,ifthecontrollersareproperlysetup,thecontrollershavemoreinformationaboutthewhatis happeningintheplant. 4,5,6,&7Elementcontrol?Yesitisuseddependingontheconditionsintheplant.Thiswillnormally betransparenttotheoperatorswhowillonlysee1Elementor3Elementcontroloptions. WellwehavebeenusingSingleElementsincethePlantStartedanditWorksFine! Doesit?Areyousure?Letstakealookatsometrendsofplantswithdifferenttypesofboilerupsets andseewhatthedifferencesare.InadditiontothetrendsIamgoingtouseanumbercalledIAEorIntegratedAbsolute Error.IAEgivesyouaqualitativenumberthatdescribeshowwellaprocessisbeingcontrolled.ThelowertheIAE number,thebetterthecontroloftheprocess. Firstletslookata5%changeindrumlevel.

Figure7DrumLevelResponsetoSetPointChangeinSingleElementControl

Figure8DrumLevelResponsetoSetPointChangeinThreeElementControl

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NowWaitJustaMinute!Bothoftheplotsarethesame!WhydidIreadallofthisifthereisnodifference betweensingleelementandthreeelement? Keepreadingandtheadvantagesofthreeelementwillbecomeapparent.Butfirst,youarecorrectthatthereis nodifferencebetweensingleelementandthreeelementwhentheboilerisinsteadystateandthereareno disturbancestotheprocess.Aslongaseverythingisquietthensingleelementisallyouneed. Youcanseethedipinthedrumlevel,causedbythedecreasedvolume,whenthefeedwatervalveisfirst increasedillustratingtheeffectthatquenchingthebubbleshasonthedrumlevel. ThetuningforthisloopwassetfortheminimumIAEortheleastamountoftimethatthelevelisinerror. Yourlevelresponsesmayhavelessovershoot.Butthetradeoffisthatyouspendmoretimewithanerrorand yourcontrollerislessabletorespondtochangesinyourplantaswewillseenext. Nextwewillhavealookatwhathappenswhensomethinginthefeedwatersystemchanges.Inthiscasethe drumlevelisinitiallybalancedthensomethinghappensinthefeedwatersystem.Maybeaheatervalveisopenedora leakdeveloped.

Figure9DrumLevelResponsetoaFeedwaterUpsetSingleElementControl

Figure10 DrumLevelResponsetoFeedwaterUpsetThreeElementControl

Firstnoticethedifferenceintheverticalscale.Thesingleelementgraphis+/6%whilethethreeelementgraphis+/1% Becausethefeedwaterisbeingdivertedfromthedrumlevelcontrolthelevelsagesabout6%inthiscase.The singleelementcontrollerwilleventuallymakeupthelevelbuttheIAEismuchhigher.Thisindicatesyouareinerrorfor amuchlongerperiodoftimeandareunabletorespondtochangesinthesystemrapidly. Feedwaterupsetsoccurforvariousreasons.Somearecontrolledsuchasmanuallyopeningavalve.Othersare uncontrolledandcauseyourealdifficultiesontheunit.Valvefailures,suddenleaksinthefeedwatersystem, ControllerTuning&Design,LLCN8414FoxRunRoad,WisconsinDells,WI53965Page7of10

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attemperators,andotherscanhappenatanytime. Insingleelementcontrolyourdrumisgoingtogoforarideandifyouareluckyyourunitwillnottrip.Butwhy takethechance?Threeelementcontrolcanhelpeliminatethesetypesofupsetsandmaintainunitreliability. ThenextdisturbanceIwillillustrateisachangeinsteamflow.Thiscanbechangingloadonthesteamturbine, changingloadbythehost,tubeleaks,orsootblowingtonameafew.Letscomparethetwosystemsabilitytohandle steamflowupsets. Againnoticethedifferentverticalscalesforeachgraph.

Figure11DrumLevelResponsetoaSteamFlowChangeinSingleElementControl

Figure12DrumLevelResponsetoaSteamFlowChangeinThreeElementControl

Initiallywhenthesteamflowincreasesthepressureinthedrumisreducedandtheamountofbubbles increases.Theseextrabubblescauseanincreaseinvolumeandliftthewaterlevelinthedrumandtheleveldoesrise. Shortlyafterthishappensthesteamflowincreasesandthemassinventoryinthedrumstartstodrop. Whenthatfirstinitialswelloccursandthelevelappearstogoupthesingleelementcontrollerwillstartclosing thefeedwatervalve.Thisputsthedrumlevelcontrolbehindrightfromthegetgo.Nowwhentheinventorydoesstart dropping,thefeedwaterisalreadybehindandhastoplaycatchup.Thismakestheshrinklargerthanisreasonableand canleadtotrippingoftheunit. ControllerTuning&Design,LLCN8414FoxRunRoad,WisconsinDells,WI53965Page8of10

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DrumLevelControl
ThelastcomparisonIwillmakewillbeduringtherampingoftheloadoftheunit.Thisparticulardisturbanceis oftenoverlookedwhentuningthedrumlevelcontrollers.Asaresulttheoperatorswilllimittherampingratebecause thedrumlevelsgetoutofhand.Asyoucanseethisisnotthecaseinthreeelementcontrol.

Figure13DrumLevelResponsetoa5MW/minloadincreaseinSingleElementControl

Figure12 DrumLevelResponsetoa5MW/minloadincreaseinThreeElementControl

Onceagainnoticetheverticalscaleoneachgraph. Whenevertheunitloadischangedthefiringrateischangedfirst.Thisisfollowedbyachangeintemperaturein theboiler.Ifthetemperaturehasincreased,asillustratedabove,thenthebubblingincreasesthedrumvolumeandthe levelwillfirstgoup,thenasthesteamflowincreasesthelevelstartsgoingdown.ViceVersaforaloaddecrease. Oncethesingleelementdrumlevelcontrollerstartsmovinginthewrongdirectiontheprocessstaysbehind untiltheloadrampiscompleted. ShrinkandSwellNotsoSwell Allofthesedynamicsaresummedupbycallingthisshrinkandswellintheboilerdrum.Shrinkisthedecreasein watervolumeduetoanincreaseinpressureordecreaseintemperature.Insmallerdrums,suchasanIPdrumonand HRSG,shrinkbecomesarealproblemsincetheamountofwatervolumeissosmall.Thiscanleadtooverheatingofthe drumandtrippingoftheunitonlowlevel. Swellistheincreaseinwatervolumecausedbyadecreaseinpressureoranincreaseinheatinput.Onalmost anydrumthatisbeingoperatedatthedesignedlevelswellisabadthing.Highwaterlevelscancausecarryoverof moistureandchemicalstothesteamturbine.Damagetothemoistureseparatorscanoccur.Andwithalargeenough swellahighleveltripwilloccur. ControllerTuning&Design,LLCN8414FoxRunRoad,WisconsinDells,WI53965Page9of10

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Conclusions Shrinkandswellarerealphenomenainadrumandcauseagreatdealofconfusionfortunersandoperators.If shrinkandswellarenotproperlycontrolleddamageandtrippingoftheunitcanoccur. Operatinginsingleelementincreasesyourriskofacomponentfailureorunittripwhenanupsetintheplant occurs.Theplantwillalsonotbeabletorampatthedesignedratesasthesingleelementcontrolleris,bynature,slow torespond. ThreeElementControlprovidesadramaticimprovementoversingleelementcontrol.Thisistrueif,andonlyif, thepersonsettingupthecontrolstrulyunderstandsthedynamicsoftheprocessandknowshowtoproperlytunea cascadedthreeelementcontrolsystem. Thedecreaseinrisktotheoperationofyourplant,especiallyifyouhaveasteamhost,isobvious.Betterdrum stabilitywillallowyoutoramptheunitatafasterratewhich,inanAncillaryServicesMarket,willincreaserevenue. Decreasedworkloadfortheoperatorsmeanstheyareabletorespondtotherealissueathandratherthanthe symptomsthatresultfromthedisturbance. IfyouhaveanyquestionsregardingthispaperpleasefeelfreetocontactControllerTuning&Design,LLC

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