SOP FOR CONDENSER VACUUM SYSTEM

DOC. # SEPCOIII-HBS-OPR-SOP-29 Issue # 00 Issue Date: 26-05-2019

Standard Operating Procedure for

Condenser Vacuum System

Copyright

The copyright of this procedure, together with all confidential information contained herein is
the sole property of SEPCOIII Haveli Bahadur Shah 1230 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant.

It may be copied in full or in parts only by the Management / personnel and only for the
purpose of Company related activities. Disclosure and copying of any information contained
within this procedure to any person (s) outside the employee of company without written
permission/authorization of the Management Representative or Plant Manager is strictly
prohibited.

Drafted By: _________________________ 2 nd April, 2019

Operation Manager

Reviewed: _________________________ 24 th May, 2019

Sr. Consultant

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 SOP FOR CONDENSER VACUUM SYSTEM
DOC. # SEPCOIII-HBS-OPR-SOP-29 Issue # 00 Issue Date: 26-05-2019

Approved By: ________________________ 26 th May, 2019

Plant Manager

Amendment Sheet
Section Amendment
Date Revision # Amendment Detail Signatures
Affected Approved by

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Table of Contents

1.0 SCOPE & PURPOSE...........................................................................................4

2.0 REFERENCES....................................................................................................5

3.0 PREREQUISITE..................................................................................................5

4.0 GENERAL PRECAUTION AND LIMITATION............................................................6

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5.0 SPECIAL TOOLS, MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT......................................................6

6.0 PROCEDURE.....................................................................................................7

7.0 SUPPLEMENTAL ACTION..................................................................................11

8.0 APPENDICES...................................................................................................11

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Description of condenser vacuum system

NOTE
Never put the vacuum pump or ejector in to service prior supplying the gland steam to the
turbine seals otherwise air will ingress through the seals, Dust particles can be the reason to
damage the seals

Vacuum pulling equipment’s

4.1 This closed circuit vacuum pump mainly includes: Vacuum Pump, Gas jet vacuum ejector three-
phase motor, Water-Air separator, heat exchanger, Base frame and piping works. The seal water from
the Condenser Exhaust Unit Vacuum Pump Package Unit is circulated through a closed loop system,
which consists of single vacuum pump, gas jet vacuum ejector, separator, and heat exchanger. Seal
Water is transmitted from the separator and sends back to vacuum pump through the heat exchanger.
As the seal water flows through the heat exchanger, the temperature gets reduced by approximately 7
to 11OC due to cooling water inlet temperature to the heat exchanger. Seal water from the heat
exchanger outlet flows through the line to the vacuum pump where it is fed to the head of the vacuum
pump seal water entering the head is applied through open spray nozzle that is threaded into the head.
The spray nozzle create spray pattern into the header which creates the air – water vapor mixture. The
same further passes to vacuum pump. As the system air-water vapor mixture contacts the seal water
spray, most of the water vapor in the mixture is condensed. The balanced condensed water vapor and
air flows through inlet passages in the head of vacuum pump. At the same time, another supply of seal
water fed directly to the vacuum pump from the heat exchanger. The seal water flows through the
passages in the vacuum pump to seal clearances inside the vacuum pump, where the seal water comes
in contact with the saturated air which is flowing from the suction head. Due to this the water vapor
from the air water mixture gets condensed & the volume of the air will also get reduced. The same is
discharged through the discharge nozzle. The vacuum pump compresses the air to atmospheric
pressure and discharges all with the seal water into the separator.
4.4 The separator is provided with a liquid level gauge (LI1), two level switches (LS1/LS2) with solenoid
valve
(VL10) to make up the seal water into the separator, Drain ball valve and water overflow loop. The
water level in the separator is shown by the level gauge (LI1). The level switch gives signal to opens the
solenoid valve (VL10) when the water level is dropped below at predetermined point and the level
switch (LS1) signal closes the solenoid valve when the water level is raised at predetermined point of
level as set point.
Heat Exchanger (HE1):
The model of heat exchanger is FP19.
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The Min. and Max. Design temperature is 0/120 °C.

There is many medium in vacuum package which add heat into system like saturated vapor inhaled by
vacuum pump, within the compression the heat is absorbed by water the temperature of operating
liquid increase in the circulation process. Here heat exchanger plays important role to dissipate this
heat into atmosphere and maintain required temperature inside the system.

1.0 SCOPE & PURPOSE

This operating procedure describes the standard and reliable operating guidelines to safely start the
steam turbine condenser vacuum System and leading to its normal continuous operation in the
optimum performance within specified operating limits. This procedure also covers the operation of
shutdown the steam turbine condenser vacuum System.

2.0 REFERENCES

 P&ID # 33-F09221S-JI401-01, 33-F09221S-JI51-01

 Vendor Technical Manual
 Operation and Maintenance Manual steam turbine gland steam system
 Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

CAUTION
It is the duty of every person who may be concerned with work on or adjacent to the System to make
themselves conversant with the Safety Rules and appropriate support documents. In addition all persons
have a general duty to be conversant with and to observe statutory requirements relating to any
activities with which they have an involvement.

3.0 PREREQUISITE

 All PTW cancelled and de-isolations have been done.

 General Safety Checks have been done.
 General Safety (provision of safe access to and from the place of work, a safe place of work, safe
methods of work and the use of correct equipment, protective clothing and lighting) must be maintained
at all times at and in the vicinity of the place of work. It is fundamental that prior to work commencing
the hazards present shall be recognized, the risks assessed and the necessary control measures
implemented to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
 Instrument Air System is in operation.

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 System valves lined up as per APPENDIX-I

 System Instruments checked as per APPENDIX-II
 Electrical Distribution System status is as per APPENDIX-III
 The 11 kV and 400 V electrical systems are in operation for supplying the Electrical power
required for starting and sustaining for the continuous operations of the relevant electrical
equipment.
 There is no obstruction in the motor cooling air path(s).

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DOC. # SEPCOIII-HBS-OPR-SOP-29 Issue # 00 Issue Date: 26-05-2019

4.0 GENERAL PRECAUTION AND LIMITATION

The following precautions and limitations apply specifically to the operation of the steam
turbine vacuum system.
In addition to the requirements for establishing Safety from the System.
It is fundamental that prior to work commencing the hazards present shall be
recognized, the risks assessed and the necessary control measures implemented to
reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
 Exposed parts of all rotary equipment must be guarded properly.
 Electrical and mechanical items of Plant and Apparatus are interconnected to form electro-
mechanical Systems, these Systems contain inherent Dangers. The Systems are designed so
that when they are in their normal operating mode, they may be operated without Danger if
safe working procedures and suitable equipment are correctly used.
 Use caution when handling chemicals. Wear protective clothing and use a breathing
apparatus when handling high concentrations of chemicals.
 Do not wear contact lenses when handling chemicals. Use rubber aprons, rubber
gloves and splash proof goggles or a face shield.
 All personnel handling the system should be familiar with the following:
 Equipment Operating Procedures.
 Evacuation Procedures in emergency.
 Leak/Spill Emergency Response Procedures
 First Aid and Rescue Procedures
 Location and use of Fire Fighting Equipment
 Proper Use of Protective Clothing
 Proper Use of Breathing Apparatus
 Location of safety showers and eyewash stations
 Prearranged Procedures for Emergency Medical Care

CAUTION
In addition to the items listed above, it is expected that every Operator use his experience,
technical knowledge, safety considerations, and industry acceptable techniques when operating
plant equipment.

5.0 SPECIAL TOOLS, MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT

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Required PPEs – unique task related

Number PPE
1 PPE’s for routine operations like safety shoes, helmet, safety glasses
2 Face shield, Chemical splash suit, Chemical resistant gloves
3 Hearing protection (Ear plugs/Muffs) if required.

Tools and Test Equipment

Number Tool Description Meter & Test Equipment ID
1 Flash Light N/A
2 Radio

Materials, Chemicals and Reagents

Number Chemical/Material Description MSDS
1 N/A N/A

CAUTION
No persons shall be engaged in work activities unless they possess sufficient knowledge and/or
experience to avoid Danger, or are supervised as appropriate, having regard to the nature of the
work. They shall have received training for and be conversant with the roles they are going to
perform.

6.0 PROCEDURE

Operating liquid
Demin water is used as operating liquid. Operating liquid is continuously discharged
together with the compressed gas. Therefore, the liquid ring must be replenished
continually with fresh, cool operating liquid. In addition to its actual function of producing
the liquid ring, the operating liquid also has the task of dissipating the heat developed by
compression and seals the gap between the impeller and the port plates and, if necessary,
cools the inner parts of the shaft seal. This is why use should be made of Operating liquid
that is as cool as possible (e.g. water at 15 °C).
The operating liquid must be devoid of solids such as sand as otherwise extreme wear will
occur in the machine. Suitable filters or strainers must be fitted if the operating liquid
contains impurities. If there is a danger of calcium deposition precautions have to be taken

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for the operating water and the sealing water, e.g. water-softeners or ionic accelerators.
Shaft sealing liquid, demineralized water.
Temperature: Normally 21 °C (limit range 0 °C to 65 °C); or operating temperature at least 10
K, below boiling point. Pressure: 0.1 to 0.3 bar above discharge pressure.

START-UP:
When we start Function Group of Evacuation System both vacuum pump starts in parallel.
When motor switched on, and cooling water valve and system inlet valve opened, ELMO-F is
running, and after water ring established in the pump, the system turns into working
condition.
Hogging operation (all vacuum pumps operate parallel to reduce evacuation time)
In hogging operation, the air is extracted from the condenser into suction connection of all
the vacuum pumps via suction line and inlet butterfly valve (ISV1).
Steps for Operation of Working and Standby pump; - In this operation both the pumps are
working.
Initially suction isolation valve ISV1 (10MAJ81/82AA003) is in closed condition.
PT (10MAJ81/82CP003) will sense the condenser pressure in mbar.
Both the pump (working + Standby) will start.
PS (MAJ81/82CP001) (PS1) will sense the pressure 0.130 kg/cm 2 (abs)
For Condenser Vacuum pump. The same signal will detected by DCS as per set point
mentioned above.
After getting signals from DCS the solenoid valve will open and instrument air will directly
expose to actuator of inlet valve (10MAJ81/82AA003) (ISV1) and the inlet valve will open for
both the pumps (working + standby).
Inlet Valve (ISV1) pneumatically actuated shut off valve. Due to the actuation action of
actuator, the Inlet valve (10MAJ81/82AA003) (ISV1) will open for both the pumps (working
+Standby.
In hogging operation both the pumps (working + standby) remains working till the system
pressure reaches to the value of 0.180Kg/cm2 (abs) which will sense by the PT
(MAJ81/82CP003).
The stand-by vacuum pump will stop if the goes below the set point.

HOLDING OPERATION: (one vacuum pump is in operation, the other is stand-by)

Running unit is set to the holding operation by shutting down the standby vacuum pump
controlled by a trip command from DCS.
Steps for Operation of Working in this Operation; in this operation only one pump is running
and the same will reduce the pressure in the system.

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The holding operation will start after achieving the condenser pressure 0.180 Kg/cm2 (abs)
in the condenser which sense by PT (MAJ81/82CP003)
In this operation only one vacuum pump is in operation. PT (MAJ81/82CP003) will send the
signals to DCS for stopping the stand by pump. In holding operation only one pump will run,
until the system pressure reaches up to 0.100 kg/cm 2 (abs). The single vacuum pump will
maintain the pressure 0.100 Kg/cm 2 (Abs) in the condenser system. If the system vacuum
pressure rises above 0.100 Kg/cm2 (Abs), which will sense by the PT (MAJ81/82CP003), will
send a signal through DCS to start the standby Pump.

LP-HOOD WATER INJECTION MAC80AA001

To prevent overheating due to ventilation, water is injected into the exhaust of the LP
turbine, this water absorbs the heat. The water injection ensures the effective cooling
without spraying water directly onto the blading.
The control of the injection valve is dependent on the mass flow through the LP turbine and
the turbine speed. When the steam flow is less than 10% and the turbine speed is greater
than 50% and the LPT ventilation temperature is greater than 160°C or LPT exhaust
temperature is greater than 75°C the injection valve opens. When the mass flow through
the LP turbine is greater than 10% or the speed is less than 50%, the injection valve is
closed.

CAUTION
When work is to be carried out on Plant, the primary means of achieving safety is by isolation from
the System(s) followed by draining, venting, purging and control of stored energy as appropriate,
except when the work requires the Plant to be energized. For these exceptions the means of
achieving safety is by the application of specialized Approved procedure.

CAUTION
Never stop the turbine gland steam seal supply at condenser full vacuum the cold air will ingress
through hot turbine gland seals, force cooling will happen causing rubbing of seals and finally
damage can accrue.

SHUT DOWN
1. Stop the driving motor (10MAJ81/82AH001) of vacuum pump (10MAJ81/82AP001).
2. Close inlet valve (10MAJ81/82AA003) to assure the needed starting condition.
3. Close the cooling water valve.

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After shutting down, pump (10MAJ81/82AP001) and separator (reach the water level
balance automatically by working liquid piping when you want to drain the pump, open all
the related connections.
Caution: For long time shutting down (1 month and/or longer), you must drain the pump.

NOTE
After the vacuum system has been stopped and condenser vacuum is almost been killed, the
gland steam supply and other system of gland steam can be put off.

VACUUM BREAKING SYSTEM

The vacuum breaking system has the following tasks:
• Full breaking of the vacuum in the case of an emergency. The purpose of this procedure is
to decelerate the shaft down in the shortest possible time.
When vacuum breaking valve MAC10AA021 is opened, air flows via the condenser neck into
the condenser. The resulting rapid rise in pressure has a powerful braking effect on the
turbine shaft ensuring that it stops rotating in the shortest possible time.
A full vacuum breaking, at steam turbine speed greater than 10%, may only be initiated by
the operator in an absolute emergency, i.e. high high vibrations.

FULL VACUUM BREAKING IN EMERGENCY SCENARIO

In case of an absolute emergency, i.e. excessive vibrations during shut down, the operator
may manually initiate a full vacuum break. This results in a faster run-down of the steam
turbine shaft to turning gear operation.
As already noted, a full vacuum break must be initiated manually. This is particularly
important when passing through the lower critical speed range. The fact, that the full
vacuum breaking function is active, it is reported at the OS by the "Full vacuum breaker ON"
alarm.
A manual opening of the vacuum breaker automatically initiates a steam turbine trip!
Partial and Full Vacuum Breaking
Vacuum breaking alarms annunciate both breaking modes:
Partial and full vacuum breaking.
No action is required if the system is working as designed and, in case of full vacuum break
annunciation, if full break is a planned action initiated by the operator
Partial – or full vacuum breaking is initiated only if the condenser can be shut-off. This is the
case if all need for condensing steam has stopped:
• GT flame OFF (or operates over bypass stack).

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• Steam turbine tripped.

• Bypass tripped.
• Ejectors OFF.
The partial vacuum break can only be automatically initiated. To start the procedure the
partial vacuum break memory is set by the following two impulse signaled criteria:
• 2-of-3 selection for trip solenoid channel 1-3 trip.
• Turbine rotor speed above 50 % of nominal speed

The active vacuum breaker function is reported at the operator station by an alarm. The
function remains energized until turbine speed drops to 50 % of the rated speed or until the
vacuum-breaking valve is closed manually.
Vacuum breaking valve moves automatically into a partial stroke position when:
• Partial vacuum break memory is set.
• Turbine rotor speed above 50 % of nominal speed.
• Backpressure in the condenser is below MAX1 (MAX1 = condenser pressure high alarm 0.2barA).
During shut down the following has to be supervised:
• Vacuum breaking valve opens and closes under the conditions described above.
• Sealing water system switched-on.
• Full vacuum break below 10 % nominal rotor speed

7.0 SUPPLEMENTAL ACTION

N/A

8.0 APPENDICES

8.1 APPENDIX-1 Pre start check list for valves line up.
8.2 APPENDIX-2 Pre start check list for instrumentation.
8.3 APPENDIX-3 Pre start check list for Electrical distribution.

APPENDIX-I

PRE-START VALVE LINE UP CHECK LIST FOR CONDENSER VACUUM SYSTEM

Verify that following valves are in placed properly and valves are arranged as per P&ID 33-
F09221S-JI401-01, 33-F099221S-JI501-01,2BW4 503 0BL4.
S. KKS DESCRIPTION STATUS
No

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1 10PUE20AA004 Condenser vacuum pump A inlet isolation valve from OPEN

condenser air line
2 10MAJ81AA003 Condenser vacuum pump A suction shut off valve AUTO
3 10MAJ81AA005 Condenser vacuum pump A discharge shut off valve AUTO
4 10MAJ81AA006 Condenser vacuum pump A discharge shut off valve by OPEN
pass valve
5 10MAJ81AA009 Condenser vacuum pump A discharge isolation valve OPEN
6 10MAJ81AA002 Condenser vacuum ejectors suction shut off valve AUTO
7 10MAJ81AA202 Vacuum pump A seal water OPEN
8 10MAJ81AA202 Steam water separator A water outlet valve OPEN
9 10MAJ81AA204 Vacuum system heat exchanger A inlet valve OPEN
10 10PUE20AA005 Condenser vacuum pump A inlet isolation valve from
condenser air line
11 10MAJ82AA003 Condenser vacuum pump B suction shut off valve AUTO
12 10MAJ82AA005 Condenser vacuum pump B discharge shut off valve AUTO
13 10MAJ82AA005 Condenser vacuum pump B discharge shut off valve AUTO
14 10MAJ82AA006 Condenser vacuum pump B discharge shut off valve by OPEN
pass valve
15 10MAJ82AA009 Condenser vacuum pump B discharge isolation valve OPEN
16 10MAJ82AA002 Condenser vacuum ejectors suction shut off valve AUTO
17 10MAJ82AA202 Vacuum pump B seal water OPEN
18 10MAJ82AA202 Steam water separator B water outlet valve OPEN
19 10MAJ82AA204 Vacuum system heat exchanger B inlet valve OPEN

APPENDIX II

PRE-START INSTRUMENT CHECK LIST FOR CONDENSER VACUUM SYSTEM

Verify that following instruments are in placed properly and valves are arranged as per P&ID
IBSE005367
S.NO KKS DESCRIPTION
1 10MAW02CP001 Gland steam inlet pressure indicator from cold reheat
2 10MAW02CP001 Gland steam inlet temperature indicator from cold reheat
3 10MAW30CT001 Gland steam temperature point to gland steam condenser
4 10MAW30CP002 Gland steam pressure point to gland steam condenser
5 10MAW30CP003 Gland steam pressure point
6 10MAW10CP001 Gland steam pressure point for HP gland steam

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7 10MAW10CT001 IP Gland steam temperature alarm device

8 10MAW10CP001 IP Gland steam temperature indicator
9 10MAW15CT001 LP Gland steam temperature indicator
10 10MAW15CT002 LP Gland steam temperature alarm device

APPENDIX-III

PRE-START ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION CHECK LIST FOR CONDENSER VACUUM SYSTEM

S. No Description Status
1 CONDENSER VACUUM PUMP-1 BREAKER ON/AUTO
2 CONDENSER VACUUM PUMP-2 BREAKER ON/AUTO
3 CONDENSER VACUUM BREAKER ON/AUTO

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