Drum Level Control:

Summary: Aim of the Control Loop is to control the water level at the ‘Normal
Operating Level’ in the Boiler Drum. Drum Level is sensed using the ‘Drum Level
Transmitters’. As the Drum Level deviates from the set point, based on the mode of
operation, Level Control Valve or the BFP Scoop will be operated to restore the Level at
the desired value.

Measurements associated with this Loop:

a. Level Transmitters at the LHS of the Drum : LT-600A, LT-600B, LT-600C –
taken through TMS Block – TMS 600
b. Level Transmitters at the RHS of the Drum : LT-600A1, LT-600B1, LT-600C1 –
taken through TMS Block – TMS 600X
c. Drum Pressure Transmitters : PT- 600A1 , PT-600A2 – taken through DMS
Block – DMS 600
d. Main Steam Flow Transmitters : FT-616A , FT-616B , FT-616C – taken through
TMS Block – TMS 616
e. Main Steam Pressure Transmitters : PT-616A , PT-616B , PT-616C – Taken
through TMS Block – TMS 616X1
f. Main Steam Temperature Transmitters : TT-616A , TT-616B , TT-616C- Taken
through TMS Block – TMS 616X2
g. Feed water Flow Transmitters : FT-505A , FT-505B , FT-505C - Taken through
TMS Block – TMS 505
h. SH Spray Flow Transmitters : FT-508A , FT-508B , FT-508C - Taken through
TMS Block – TMS 508
i. DP across feed control station : DPT-505A , DPT-505B , DPT-505C - Taken
through TMS Block – TMS 505X

Actuators involved:
 30% Feed Control Valve : LCV-600
 100% Feed Control Valve - Main : FCV-505A
 100% Feed Control Valve – Stand-by : FCV-505B
 BFP-A Scoop – PCV-001
 BFP-B Scoop – PCV-002
 BFP-C Scoop – PCV-003

Set Point: 0 mm
Calculation Involved:

 Drum Level Compensation

Drum Level need to be compensated for the density variation of water in the drum. The
calculation involved in deriving the ‘Compensated Drum Level’ is described below:

Formula for Drum level compensation:-

STEAM DRUM LP Condensate Pot

Steam Ds
H-Hm
0 mmWC
H
Hm
Water Dw HP

Delta P
Hm -- Compensated drum level signal.
Dw -- Density of water inside the Drum
Da -- Water Density at 30 Deg. C. (For water in Condensate pot)
Dw -- Density of water (gm/cm3 from steam table)
Ds -- Density of Steam (gm/cm3 from steam table)
H -- Water head on LP side (800mmWc)
Delta P = Differential pressure being measured by DP transmitter (range –800 to 0
mmWc)

Note: Operating drum pressure P is always acting equally on HP & LP side of the DP
transmitter, hence the same is not shown in the formula

Head on HP = Hm *Dw + (H-Hm)*Ds

Head on LP = H *Da

Delta p = HP- LP
= Hm (Dw-Ds) – H (Da-Ds)

Hm = {delta p + H (Da-Ds) } / (Dw- Ds)

Where
Da = 0.996 (Wet leg density i.e. water Density at 30 Deg.C)
H - cmWC (This has to be converted back to mmWC for displaying on DCS & further
Processing)
Hm calculated from above formula is density corrected drum level, which shall be in
scale range 0 to 800 mmWc
Following table is configured in functional block to calculate compensated level:-

Dw=water density Ds =steam

Pressure in kg/cm2 A.
gms/cm3 density gms/cm3
10 0.887 0.00514
20 0.849 0.01
30 0.821 0.015
40 0.798 0.0201
41 0.796 0.0206
42 0.794 0.0211
43 0.7918 0.0216
44 0.7897 0.0222
45 0.7876 0.0227
50 0.7773 0.0254
60 0.7581 0.0308
70 0.7399 0.03652
80 0.7224 0.04251
90 0.7054 0.04881
100 0.6886 0.05547
110 0.6719 0.06255
120 0.6553 0.07011
130 0.6333 0.07981
140 0.6100 0.08826
150 0.5888 0.09523

 Steam Flow Compensation

Pressure and Temperature compensation is done for steam flow as per the given equation
in function block FX-616
Compensated Steam Flow in TPH
______________________
Indicated Steam Flow in TPH *  (P1 + 1.00) * (540 +273)
= _________________________________________________
______________________
 (143+1.00) * (T1+273)

_____________________
= 5.645 * Indicated Steam Flow in TPH *  {(P1 + 1.000) / (T1+273)}

P1 = Measured Pressure Signal in Kg/cm2 (g)

T1 = Measured Temperature Signal in C
Design pressure = 143 Kg/cm2 (g)
Design Temp. = 540C
 Feed-Water Flow Compensation

Temperature compensation for Feed water flow is done as per the given equation:

Compensated Feed Water Flow in TPH =

__________
Indicated Feed water Flow in TPH *  ( 252 +273)
= _________________________________________
__________
 (T1+273)
T1 = Measured Temperature Signal in C
Design Temp. = 252 C

Modes of Operation and Operational Graphics:

 Various methods of Controlling the Drum Level are as follows –

a. Single Element (1-E)– for Lo Load Operation up to 25% Load
b. Three Element (3-E) for Higher Load – i.e from 25% to 100% Load
For the 3 Element control, there are 2 methodology of control –
1. Control valve will control the level and the BFP Scoop will control the DP across
the Control Valve
2. Control Valve will go for Wide Open condition when the Drum Level will be
controlled by the BFP Scoop directly

 Operator need to select the Mode of Control – i.e 1E & 3E from the HMI Screen.

When 1E Mode of operation is selected, only the 30% valve can be put in AUTO.
In case operator need to control the DP across the Feed Control Station as well, the
BFP scoop need to be put in AUTO for controlling the DP.
However, for the Scoop to control the DP in AUTO mode, the ‘SCOOP-MASTER’
and the individual Scoop Auto-Manual Stations, need to be taken on AUTO mode.

 Once the Load comes to around 25%, it will be Operator’s responsibility to switch to
3-E mode. Once 3E is selected, the 30% CV will switchover to MANUAL and shall
remain Stay put – it will be operator’s responsibility to gradually close the 30%
Feed-Control Valve manually by adjusting the drum level through the Full Load CV.
However the Scoop will continue to control the DP across the feed control station in
AUTO Mode , if so selected.

 Once 3-E Mode is selected, the control system automatically selects the Option
where Full Load CV will control the level.
However, Operator has an option of controlling the level directly through the BFP
scoop – for that he need to select the Option of ‘Drum Level by Scoop’. Once this
option is selected, the Full Load CV will go for Wide Open position automatically
and the ‘SCOOP-MASTER’ will be connected directly to the Drum Level Control.
 When the 3E Level control is in operation through BFP Scoop and the Operator
switches over to 3E Control through CV, the Scoop Master will switch over to DP
Control automatically. The Full Load CV will continue to remain in Manual Mode
& will maintain the Wide Open position. Operator need to put the Full Load CV to
AUTO Mode.

 Biasing of BFP Scoop :

From the Graphics Page, Operator can Bias the engagement of the Scoops by
manually adjusting the Bias Value. Each BFP Scoop has its own Bias Block which
can be used to manually Bias the Scoop of each BFP individually.
For each BFP, the current feedback is available on the screen which will guide the
operator to adjust the Bias suitably.

Control Loop:

Single Element (1-E) Control – This is the control mode for the lower load of operation
– typically upto 25% of the load.
The set point for this loop shall be fed manually.
In this mode, Drum Level alone will be used as the Process Value and the level shall be
controlled by operation of the 30% Level Control Valve.

The Control Valve is of ‘Air to Close’ design and the Controller is configured as ‘Direct’.
As the Level rises, the Controller output increases thus ensuring the closure of the valve
and thereby controlling the drum level back to the set point.

Once the 3-E Mode is selected, the Loop will ‘Trip to Manual’ with the control valve
maintaining its last position. It will be at the discretion of the operator to further close it
manually as by gradual closure the complete Drum Level control will be shifted from the
30% Valve to the 100% Valve.

Three Element (3-E) Control using Control Valve –

As the load is raised beyond 25% of load, operator need to manually switchover to 3-E
control.

There are 2 Number of Level Control Valves – either one of the Control Valve shall be
under operation. Selector Push-Button is available on the HMI screen - operator need to
select the valve they want to take in Control. The other valve shall remain closed.

For the 3-E control, Drum Level, Steam Flow and Feed-Water Flow will be considered as
the 3 process values those take part in the control. 3-E Drum Level Control is a Cascade
Control Loop where the Level Controller will be used as Primary Controller. The output
of the Level Controller shall be used along with Feed-Water Flow , SH Spray Flow and
Steam Flow to generate the cumulative ‘3-E Error Signal’ which will then drive the
Cascade Controller. Based on the Selected Control Valve, the Cascade Controller will
drive the control valve.

Associated Controls -

Control Loop which is associated with the Drum Level Control is BFP Scoop Control.

BFP Scoop Control can be used in following ways:

a. When the Control Valve is used for controlling the Drum-Level, BFP Scoop can
be taken in AUTO to control the DP across the Feed Control Station. This is the
default mode of operation for ‘1-E’ or ‘3-E’ Mode which will be depicted by the
display on the HMI Screen that will show “Drum Level Control by VALVE”.

b. When the BFP is used to control the Drum Level directly, Control Valve goes
wide open. This mode need to be selected by the operator by a Push-Button
operation on the HMI Screen which shows “Drum Level by SCOOP”.

Three Element (3-E) Control using BFP Scoop –

If the operator changes the Control Mode where the Drum Level need to be controlled
through BFP-Scoop, the Feed-Water control valve will become wide open and the ‘3-E
Error signal’ will drive the Scoop-Mode Cascade Controller which will drive the BFP
Scoops through their individual Auto-Manual Stations.

Differential Pressure Control across the Feed Control Station using BFP Scoop-

When the ‘Drum Level Control by Valve’ Mode is selected, the default mode of
operation for the BFP scoop is to maintain the DP across the Feed Control Station.

The Set Point for this Loop need to be fed manually by the operator. Unless the Loop is
taken in AUTO, the ‘SCOOP-MASTER’ shall be used to feed the manual command to
all the Scoops .Alternately, individual Auto-Manual Station for the Scoops can also be
used to feed the manual command to different Scoops.

Position Tracking of the Stand-By BFP Scoop

In full load condition, 2 number of BFP s shall be in operation and the 3rd one shall be in
STAND-BY (AUTO) condition. BFP which will be in Stand-by shall keep tracking the
average position of the Scoops of the BFPs which are ‘ON’. If any of the running BFP
Trips, the STAND-BY BFP will start immediately & automatically and the Scoop of the
STAND-BY BFP shall be driven to the position of the tripped BFP.

For the tripped BFP, its Scoop will be thrown to MANUAL and will be driven to
‘Minimum’ position.