UNIQUE STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING PLANT HEAT RATE AND APH PERFORMANCE USING MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF TUBULAR AIR

HEATERS OF KhSTPP
TECHNICAL PAPER & MODEL PRESENTED BY ASHOK SARKAR Management Consultant, Consultant Energy.

MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF TUBULAR AIR HEATERS OF KhSTPP, A TOOL FOR APH PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND OPTIMISATION
KHSTPP 210 MW BOILER APH

O&M/MM-1

TECHNICAL PAPER & MODEL PRESENTED BY

APH 2nd STAGE SECONDARY AIR SECONDARY AIR

ECO 1ST

ECO 1ST

ASHOK SARKAR
FD FAN

APH 1ST STAGE

FD FAN

ID FAN
AIR FLUE GAS
S.K

APH AN OVERVIEW
Air Pre Heater
is a heat transfer surface, for transferring heat from other media such as flue gas. Reclaims heat from flue gas at low temperature levels than is possible with economiser, Enhances the efficiency of the boiler. For every 20 deg.C drop in flue exit temperature , the boiler efficiency increases by about 1%.

 Regenerative or Ljungstrom (RAPH), Regenerative type Air Pre

APH TYPES & SPECIFIC USE

Heater; is a rotating type. This may be horizontal (now very common in power generation utilities) or vertical.

Recuperative type,
Tubular type built into the boiler outlet Flue gas ducting

Either gas or air may be designed to flow through the tubes

TUBULAR APHS OF KHSTPP

4 x 210 MW Boilers, TYPE 690-13.8-540, are designed for firing of coal from Rajmahal coalfields of ECL. This coal is having high ash content with high abrasiveness and relatively low heat value of volatile matters. This signifies the low reactivity of the coal. HIGH FURNACE VOLUME & HEEIGHT, SIDE WALL FIRING One more distinguished feature of said boilers is use of tubular air heaters in place of commonly used Regenerative Air Heaters.

Air heater tubes in the block are welded with top plate and flared in the bottom plate. The salient details are Tube Size (O.D.): Thickness: Tube material: 40 mm 2 mm Cold drawn ERW Normalised Tube as per BS3059, Part-1 ERW-320/198. Tier STAGE 1 1st Tier 2nd Tier 3rd Tier STAGE-2 4th Tier Elevation Tube Length (mm) 4400 mm 4900 mm 4900 mm 4900mm No. of Blocks 32 28 28 28 No. of Tubes 34272 43148 43148 43148 Heating Surface Area 17993 m2 25227 m2 25227 m2 25227 m2

TUBULAR APH CONSTRUCTIONAL FEATURES

18 M 24 M 30 M 40 M

KHSTPP

210 MW BOILER APH

O&M/MM-1

APH 2nd STAGE SECONDARY AIR SECONDARY AIR

ECO 1ST

ECO 1ST

APH 1ST STAGE

FD FAN

FD FAN

GENERAL ARRANGEM ENT OF DIFFRERENT HEAT TRANSFER SURFACES IN THE SECOND PASS

ID FAN
AIR FLUE GAS
S.K

TECHNO-ECONOMIC REVIEW OF TUBULAR AIR HEATER w.r.t ROTARY REGENERATIVE AIR HEATER
Sl.No Tubular Air heater . 1 Size - large, Height approx. 28M. High capital cost. Larger space requirement. Regenerative Air heater Height relatively less. Lower Space requirement. Remarks Low reactive coal burning needs larger furnace height. Additional height in 1st pass creates space for AH in 2nd pass.

No moving parts hence low Rotary type with drives, maintenance requirement. gear box assembly, lub oil system etc. require regular maintenance and monitoring. Less prone to wear due to Susceptible to wear of flow of gases containing ash, heat transfer surfaces, silica etc and corrosive frequent replacements gases. are needed. Probability of Fire in the APH Occurrences of Fire in due to build up of unburnt the APH elements due deposits is less. to build up of unburnt deposits during normal operation are not rare.

Better effectiveness; higher air outlet temperature up to 360C~370C achieved under normal operating conditions.

Effectiveness comparatively lower.

System/ scheme like Partial AH air bypass further improves outlet air temperature when needed for PA fans. Higher ingress level causes increased auxiliary power consumption, adverse effect on boiler efficiency and nonavailability of ID fans margin. Shot blasting in tubular air heater is required only after oil firing. Identifying eroded/ tubes is simple leaking

Air ingress level very low, actual level 9% ~ 10%. nominal leakage through expansion joints, access doors, casing etc. No cleaning/ soot blowing required during normal operation with coal Only spool piece at the top gets eroded, parent tube remains intact.

High air ingress levels in the form of pressure leakages and carry over leakages. Regular soot blowing required. Performance sensitive to heating element cleanliness. High erosion level, both inboard and outboard. Including rotor post, sector plate, diaphragm, axial seal plate to sector plate area, plenum area Annual maintenance works include attending abnormal sound/ vibration, maintenance of drive gear box, pin rack bearings, guide/ support bearings and it's level, Static seal checking, pin rack/ T bar alignment etc. Capital overhaul jobs include heating elements cleaning/ replacement/ reversal/ support checking, air seal cover disassembly & inspection, pin-rack alignment checking etc.

Long life of tubes. Minimal maintenance requirement such as water washing of air heaters, leakage identification & eroded spool piece replacement, maintenance of shot blasting equipment.

10

Jobs taken up in capital overhaul are same as annual overhaul jobs. I.e. water washing and air leakage checking/ spool piece replacement.

Tube replacement in Tier-1 AH in one of the unit done due to poor tube quality at the erection time.

PROBLEMS IN GENERAL
General problems faced:
Spool piece damage: leading to increase in I.D.
FAN current & loss of ID FAN margin.
Action Taken: During Overhaul, the APH tightness test is conducted, leaking tubes and eroded spool pieces are identified and are replaced.

Choking of tubes:which leads to increase in

loss of margin of I.D. fan Action taken: Cleaning of choked APH tubes are done by water
jetting in lower tier & by Air jetting in Top tiers.

Leakage of Tubes: leading to increase in I.D.

FAN current & loss of ID FAN margin
Action Taken: During Overhaul, the APH tightness test is conducted, leaking tubes are identified and are replaced.

PRESENT PRACTICE OF PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Temperatures
Roadblock: The unavailability of the flue gas temperature

at the APH stage-II outlet.

Boiler pressure Survey: APH leakage Survey: IMPROVEMENT NEEDED - WHY?

Due to unavailability of a specific temperature measurement and uniqueness of construction, A combination of the information cited above provided a qualitative information about the APH condition. More direct & comprehensive information regarding the APH condition, with more emphasis on quantitative aspects - NEED OF THE HOUR.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL NEED & STRATEGIC TOOL FOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

Unique Strategic tool for APH performance Improvement Prediction of number of tubes choked; as a value addition to MIS and feedback to Mech. Maintenance Indirect estimation of Tramp Air Ingress in the Boiler without resorting to HVT test. Estimation of APH stage II, outlet Flue gas temperature.

THE MODEL IN BRIEF

To start with, a simplified model of the APH was made with the assumption of no or negligible fouling.
Initial roadblock was: The unavailability of the flue gas temperature at the APH stage-II outlet. The availability of the same was necessary for any effective model. First stage of the Economiser was placed in between APH stage I and Stage II.

The airflow & fluid flow calculations were arrived through flue gas analysis and excess air evaluations.

THE MODEL IN BRIEF

Data required: Data required for the complete analysis by the model:

Full set of data as required for the Boiler efficiency test Flue gas analysis, across APH., obtained through ORSAT TEST, dry gas basis. As fired coal Analysis. Additional Temperature measurements across the two stages of the Air Pre Heater, Air & Flue gas. The feed water flow to economiser & feed water temperature at economiser inlet were required.

WHAT GOES IN & COMES OUT OF THE MODEL

INPUT Configuration of APH Geometry Proximate Analysis of coal Flue gas composition at Inlet & Outlet of APH Temp. of flue gas & Air at Inlet & Outlet of APH OUTPUT Flue gas temp. at outlet of APH stageII Effectiveness / gas side efficiency at diff. Stages Tramp Air estimate No. of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer

VALIDATION OF THE MODEL - WITH DESIGN DATA

APH Stage-I ,Overall Heat Flue Gas temperature, At APH Stage - II outlet, oC As per Design 352 0.726 As calculated by the Model 349.44 Transfer Surface area, M2 As per Design With Coal % Error Design 68447 0.09515371 68512 As calculated by the Model

 RECOMMISSIONING GROUPS APPROX. ASSESSEMENT OF THE NUMBER OF TUBES NOT TAKING PART IN HEAT TRANSFER, PHYSISCALLY; JUST AFTER STOPPING OF UNIT # 4, WAS 24.0%.
% of Tubes of APH, Stage I, not taking Part in Heat Transfer ( Choked+Leak)

MORE DIRCT VALIDATION AT SITE

Unit 1 Before Annual Overhaul After Annual Overhaul 10.84 38.27

Unit 2 42.52

Unit 3 42.04

Unit 4 20.28

17.15

12.01

8.82

UNIT-1 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

150 100 50 0
% , TUBES ID FAN APH LEAK,% CHOKED+LE CURR., AMP 38.27 10.84 145 107 11.9 6.84

BEF o/h AFT oh

UNIT-1 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

1000 800 600 400 200 0

% , TUB ES CHOKED+LEA K B EF o /h A FT o h 38.27 10.84

Heat Transferred to A ir / o C 693 1000

A P H, Stage - I, Gas Side 52.8 62.45

UNIT-2 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

150 100 50 0

% , TUBES ID FAN CHOKED+L CURR., AMP 42.52 17.15 125 113

APH LEAK,% 16.05 7.36

BEF o/h AFT oh

UNIT-2 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

1000 800 600 400 200 0
% , TUB ES CHOKED+LEA K 42.52 17.15 Heat Transferred to A ir / o C 645 930 A P H, Stage - I, Gas Side 48.22 54.44

B EF o /h A FT o h

UNIT-3 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

150 100 50 0

% , TUBES CHOKED+LE 42.04 12.01

ID FAN APH LEAK,% CURR., AMP 139 114 20.06 10.53

BEF o/h AFT oh

UNIT-3 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

1000 800 600 400 200 0
% , TUB ES CHOKED+LEA K 42.04 12.01 Heat Transferred to A ir / o C LM TD 610 987 A P H, stage-I, gas side Efficiency 56.8 58.33

B EF o /h A FT o h

UNIT-4 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

150 100 50 0

% , TUBES ID FAN CHOKED+L CURR., AMP 20.28 8.82 115 95

APH LEAK,% 14.29 5.23

BEF o/h AFT oh

UNIT-4 , PARAMETERS BEFORE & AFTER OH

1500 1000 500 0

% , TUBES CHOKED+L 20.28 8.82

Heat Transferred 895 1023

APH, stage-I, LMTD 58 52

BEF o/h AFT oh

APPLICATION OF THE MODEL BEFORE OVERHAUL

For assessment of number of tubes not taking part in heat transfer which is equivalent to number of tubes, having leakage and choking a valuable feedback to mechanical maintenance and MIS Useful aid for overhauling preparedness

Quantitative assessment of number of tubes not taking part in heat transfer

% of Tubes of APH, Stage I, not taking Part in Heat Transfer ( Choked+Leak)

Unit 1 Before Annual Overhaul After Annual Overhaul 10.84 38.27

Unit 2 42.52

Unit 3 42.04

Unit 4 20.28

17.15

12.01

8.82

APPLICATION OF THE MODEL AFTER OVERHAUL

THUS IT CAN BE SEEN THAT THE MODEL USED FOR FINDING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE O/H. GIVES A USEFUL FEEDBACK REGARDING THE EFFICIACY OF THE JOBS / PROCESSES UNDERTAKEN IN THE OVERHAUL. FOR FORMULATING STRATEGIES FOR BETTERMENT OF THE SAME

% of Tubes of APH, Stage I, not taking Part in Heat Transfer ( Choked+Leak) Unit 1 Before Annual Overhaul After Annual Overhaul 10.84 17.15 12.01 8.82 38.27 Unit 2 42.52 Unit 3 42.04 Unit 4 20.28

ID fan Power consumption, In Amps Unit 1 Before Annual Overhaul After Annual 106/109 113/114 114/114 95/94 142/149 Unit 2 123/127 Unit 3 137/141 Unit 4 117/113

Overhaul The substantial improvement in ID fan Current in Unit-4, is well correlated with the

MODEL AN USEFUL TOOL FOR BETTER FEEL OF EQPT.

MODEL CAN BE UTILISED FOR UNDERSTANDING OBSERVATIONS & FOR DEVELOPING BETTER FEEL OF THE EQPT. THE MODEL WAS UTILISED TO FIND AN EXPLANATION FOR SUDDEN RISE IN ID FAN CURRENT AFETR A ECONOMISER TUBE LEAK IN ONE OF THE UNITS.

Trend of ID Fan Current

7
Avg. O2 at APH in

21/08 & 22/08, unit stopped due to Eco. Tube leakage

145
ID Fan curr., Amp

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 27-05-05 29-06-05 22-07-05 20-08-05 O2 avg 29-08-05 29-09-05 ID fan Current avg

135 125 115 105 95 85 75

UNIT - 3 , NUMBER OF TUBES CHOKED +LEAKING

Unit 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
Before BTF, July'05 After BTF, 24/08/2005

TRENDING & OSERVATIONS

Unit 15

12.94 10.53 7.43

10 5 0

Before BTF, July'05

After BTF, 24/08/2005

As on Dec'05

TRENDING & OSERVATIONS

Unit - 1,
% of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer, (Choked+Leak)
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

38.27

16.08 10.84

17.34

18.68

Before Annual O/H

After Annual O/H

As on Dec'05

As on Jan'06

As on Feb'06

TRENDING & OSERVATIONS

Unit - 2,
% of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer, (Choked+Leak)

42.52
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

32.92 28.04 17.15 17.88

Before Annual O/H

After Annual O/H

As on Dec'05

As on Jan'06

As on Feb'06

TRENDING & OSERVATIONS

Unit - 3,
% of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer, (Choked+Leak)

42.04
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

19.25 12.01 12.94

19.25

Before Annual O/H

After Annual O/H

As on Dec'05

As on Jan'06

As on Feb'06

TRENDING & OSERVATIONS

Unit - 4,
% of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer, (Choked+Leak)
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

20.28 15.75 8.82 9.46 15.41

Before Annual O/H

After Annual O/H

As on Dec'05

As on Jan'06

As on Feb'06

TRENDING & OSERVATIONS

% of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer, (Choked+Leak)

APH status
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Before Annual After Annual O/H O/H As on Dec'05 As on Jan'06 As on Feb'06

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Unit - 1

Unit - 2

Unit - 3

Unit - 4

INDIRECTLY WIHTOUT HVT TEST

AN INDIRECT WAY, FOR TRAMP AIR DETERMINATION WITHOUT ACTUALLY RESORTING TO HVT TEST, WHICH REQUIRES: A LOT OF PHYSICAL EFFORT PREPARATION & TIME LIMITATION FACED:
COAL PROXIMATE ANALYSIS, SOURCE OF

TRAMP AIR DETERMINATION

ERROR; WHEN COAL FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES ARE FIRED. NEEDS VALIDATION WITH INSTRUMNETS .

THE MODEL PREDICTS TRAMP AIR, APPROX.

TREND OF TRAMP AIR, UNIT- 3
20 15 10 5 0 BEF OH AFT OH UNIT-3 17.48 8.6

FORMULATION OF UNIQUE STRATEGY FOR OPTIMISATION OF APH PERFORMANCE

With the availability of the trending facility through the
programme and the understanding (being developed), of the various factors responsible for choking & leakage of tubes, the rate of choking & leakage of tubes can be controlled with success to certain extent. The same can therefore lead to substantial saving in terms of energy consumption of ID fan. Moreover, if losses in boiler efficiency due unavailability of ID fan margin is considered, the gains can be much higher. Direct Gains: substantial saving in energy consumption of ID & FD fans Indirect Gains: No loss of Boiler Efficiency due to loss of ID fan margin.

SAVINGS GENERATED USING THE MODEL AS A TOOL

FOR A CASE, WHEN REDUCTION IN ID FAN CURRENT IS ABOUT 30 Amps. AND THE SAME IS MAINTAINED OVER THE YEAR, USING THE MODEL AS A TOOL, CAN BE 0.4 MU PER MONTH RS 8.0 LAKH PER MONTH IN ONE UNIT. INDIRECT GAIN, NO LOSS OF BOILER EFFICIENCY DUE TO LOSS OF ID FAN

Tramp Air as % of Theoritical Air

16.44993

Leakage in A/H

4.913295

Temp. Of Flue Gas at Outlet from ST#2

318.9921

oC

APH

A/H Stage # 1 L.M.T.D. DESIGN

51.95214 45.52 17.34437

oC

oC %

% of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer

Heat Transferred to Air / oC L.M.T.D.

928.1647

kW/o C LMTD

DESIGN
10 APH, Stage - I, Gas Side efficiency DESIGN 11 APH, Stage - II, Gas Side efficiency DESIGN

1123.597
56.47 70.38 62.29 50.00

kW/o C LMTD
% % % %

APH PERFOMANCE TEST

Station: KhSTPS Test Load: 217 MW Unit # I Test date:- 19.01.2006

1 CHEMISTRY DATA: Proximate Analysis of Coal:As tested Moisture Ash Volatile Matter Fixed carbon GCV Design Moisture 13 Ash 42.6 Volatile Matter Fixed carbon GCV 3200

13 41.43 15.31 30.26 3055

% % % % kCal/kG

% % % % kCal/kG

Ultimate Analysis from Proximate Analysis:As tested C H N O S 38.60 2.28 0.81 3.69 0.19 % % % % % Inlet Right 17 2.9 C H N O S Design 34.82 1.88 0.72 6.57 0.41

% % % % % Outlet Right 16 3.8

Orsat Analysis of Flue Gas:Left CO2 17 O2 2.8 Unburnt Carbon in Ash:Fly Ash Bottom Ash

Orsat Analysis of Flue Gas:Left CO2 16.2 O2 3.6

1.08 3.76

2 REFERENCE PARAMETERS: REFERENCE AIR TEMP. (TEST) AVG. FLUE GAS APH EXIT TEMP.(TEST) AVG. FLUE GAS APH ENTRY TEMP.(TEST) TOTAL UNBURNT 3 AMBIENT CONDITION AIR TEMPERATURE RELATIVE HUMIDITY WT. OF MOISTURE IN AIR(TEST) 4 Tramp Air as % of Theoritical Air 5 Leakage in A/H 6 Temp. Of Flue Gas at Outlet from ST#2 APH 7 A/H Stage # 1 L.M.T.D. DESIGN 8 % of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer 9 Heat Transferred to Air / oC L.M.T.D. DESIGN 10 APH, Stage - I, Gas Side efficiency DESIGN 11 APH, Stage - II, Gas Side efficiency DESIGN 32.5 139.75 398.25 0.0051 Degree C Degree C Degree C kG/kG of Fuel

15.1 Degree C 100.0 % 0.0107 kG/kG of Dry Air 16.44993 % 4.913295 %

o 318.9921 C

o 51.95214 C 45.52 oC 17.34437 %

928.1647 1123.597 56.47 70.38 62.29 50.00

kW/o C LMTD kW/o C LMTD % % % %

Tramp Air as % of Theoritical Air

16.44993 %

Leakage in A/H

4.913295 %
oC

Temp. Of Flue Gas at Outlet from ST#2

APH

318.9921

A/H Stage # 1 L.M.T.D. DESIGN % of tubes not taking part in Heat Transfer Heat Transferred to Air / oC L.M.T.D. DESIGN APH, Stage - I, Gas Side efficiency DESIGN APH, Stage - II, Gas Side efficiency DESIGN

51.95214

oC

45.52 oC 17.34437 % 928.1647 kW/o C LMTD 1123.597 kW/o C LMTD 56.47 % 70.38 % 62.29 % 50.00 %

Typical savings from Heat Rate Improvement ( Rs / Year)

Pit Head Station
210 MW 500 MW

Rail Fed Station

210 MW

500 MW

1% Overall Heat Rate Improvement ( from 2500 kcal / kWh)

55.18 Lacs

131.4 Lacs

147 Lacs

350 Lacs

1 Deg C change in APH Exit Gas Temperature

2.64 Lacs

6.30 Lacs

7.06 Lacs

16.82 Lacs

Whatever is ignored during operation adds to the woes of maintenance and vice versa Operation & Maintenance practices overlap & influence each other.

To Conclude..
Energy conservation is a continuing process. It must be a part of normal work activities It requires active involvement of one and all

It must have the full support of top management

SUGGESTIONS & QUERIES ARE WELCOME

THEY WILL ONLY ENRICH THE MODEL

mrashoksarkar@rediffmail.com