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Boiler-Tuning Basics, Part I

powermag.com/boiler-tuning-basics-part-i

Mar 1, 2009 by POWER March 1, 2009

O&M
On my first project as a combustion control engineer, I was responsible for loop checks and
for watching the experts tune the system controls. The first loop I tried to tune solo was the
drum level control. At that time the trend-tune program defaulted to a 2-minute window, and
no one bothered to mention to me that the proper time span to tune drum level control to is
20 to 30 minutes. I also zoomed in on the drum level, which has a normal range of ±15
inches, though my trend range was ±3 inches. Finally, I did not know that drum level can be a
very "noisy" signal, so the hours I spent trying to tune out that noise were wasted.

Eventually, I got the bright idea to add a little derivative to the loop control. In the time it took
to program 0.01 as the derivative gain and then immediately remove it, the boiler tripped.
Thus began my career in boiler tuning.

In the 20-plus years since my inauspicious debut, I’ve had the opportunity to successfully
tune hundreds of boilers, new and old, that needed either a control loop tweak or a complete
overhaul.

Many inexperienced engineers and technicians approach boiler tuning with a heavy hand
and little insight into the inner workings of individual control loops, how highly interconnected
they are with other loops in the boiler system, or what change should be expected from the
physical equipment the loops are to control. My purpose in writing this article is to explore
these fundamentals and share my experiences. I trust these insights will be of value to the
power industry and specifically to those who want to tune boilers for rock-solid stability yet
agility when responding to process changes.

What Constitutes Good Control?


Every boiler ever built has its own set of peculiarities. Even two boilers built at the same plant
at the same time to the same drawings will have unique quirks and special tuning issues. I
begin with a description of the various boiler and subsystem control loops before moving to
good boiler-tuning practices that are sufficiently robust to accommodate even minute
differences between what should be identical boilers.

From a pure controls perspective, the most important goal is to tune for repeatability of a
value, not the actual value itself. We do not care that there are exactly 352,576.5 pph of fuel
going into the furnace; we only care that, for a given fuel master demand, we get the same
amount every time. There will be process variation, of course, but the goal is to tune the
controls to keep that variation as small as possible and then tune for accuracy.

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Boiler control processes are where I will begin. Additional control functions outside the
furnace will be explored in Part II in a future issue of POWER.

Operator Controls
The operator’s window into the control system is referred to as a master or as a hand/auto
station, control station, or operator station. The station is the operator interface to a given
control loop and is typically a switch located on the control panel in older plants or accessible
from the operator’s keyboard in those equipped with all-digital controls. Typically, the control
station allows the operator to move between manual and automatic modes of operation. All
of the control loops discussed in this article combine to form the set of controls that manage
the key boiler operating functions.

When a control loop is placed in manual mode, the operator will have direct control of the
output. In automatic mode the output is modulated by the proportional-integral-derivative
(PID) controller. In automatic mode the operator usually has some control over the set point
or operating point of the process, either directly or through the use of a bias signal.
Occasionally, as in primary airflow control, the set point is displayed either on the controller
located on the control panel or on the computer screen graphic display. Cascade mode is a
subset of the automatic mode in which the operator turns over control of the set point to the
master, whose internal logic generates the set point. Usually, there is some digital logic that
requires the station to be interlocked to manual, as well as control output tracking and set
point tracking.

Furnace Pressure Control


Furnace pressure control is a fairly simple loop, but it’s also one that has important safety
implications. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes, such as NFPA 85:
Boiler and Combustion Systems Hazards Code, are dedicated to fire and furnace explosion
and implosion protection. Before you begin tuning a boiler, you must read and understand
the NFPA codes that apply to your boiler.

Balanced draft boilers use induced draft (ID) fans and/or their inlet dampers to control boiler
furnace pressure. The typical control system has one controller that compares the difference
between the furnace pressure and the furnace pressure set point that uses a feedforward
signal usually based on forced draft (FD) fan master output. The output from the controller
typically is fed through an ID fan master control station. Smaller units may have a single ID
fan, but larger units usually have two or more ID fans. The most I have seen is eight ID fans
for a single unit. In this case, the output from the control loop or master is distributed to the
individual fan control stations.

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The NFPA also requires some additional logic for the furnace pressure control loop to ensure
adequate operating safety margins. There should be high and low furnace pressure logic to
block the ID fan from increasing or decreasing speed, as is appropriate. For example,
because this fan sucks flue gas out of the furnace, on a high furnace pressure signal the fan
should be blocked from decreasing speed and on a low furnace pressure signal it should be
blocked from increasing speed. On a very negative furnace pressure signal, there should be
an override that closes the ID inlet damper or decreases ID fan speed. The settings of these
signals are determined by the boiler and fan supplier during the design of the plant.

Also, on a main fuel trip (MFT) there should be MFT kicker logic. An MFT occurs when the
burner management system detects a dangerous condition and shuts down the boiler by
securing the fuel per NFPA and boiler manufacturer requirements. When fuel is removed, the
flame within the furnace collapses violently, which can cause a lot of wear and tear on the
boiler and related boiler equipment. It also presents the very real danger of an implosion.
The MFT kicker should immediately reduce the control output to the fan(s) proportional to the
load being carried at the time of the MFT and then release the device back to normal
operation.

I am constantly amazed at how well furnace pressure can be controlled, especially when you
consider the amount of fuel and air being injected into a ball of fire many stories tall and the
ferocious and chaotic environment inside a boiler. The fact that a well-tuned system can
maintain furnace pressure to – 0.5 inches H2O is remarkable.

A typical mistake made by boilers tuners is the use of very fast integral action to the furnace
pressure controller. Furnace pressure changes quickly, but not instantaneously, so consider
the size of your furnace and the amount of duct work between the furnace and the fans as
capacitance in the system, because air is compressible. I recommend restraint when tuning
furnace pressure when it comes to adding integral gain. Interestingly, the feedforward for
almost every boiler is on the order of 0% to 100% in, and 0% to 80% out.

The trends in the following figures show what you should expect to see from your furnace
pressure control. The plant from which these data were taken uses both fan inlet damper
position and fan speed to control furnace pressure. Figure 1 illustrates an ID fan tuning trend
and the reaction of the ID fans and the furnace pressure to a change in set point.

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1. Blowing hot air. Induced draft fans are used to control furnace pressure and primary
combustion airflow. In this test, induced draft fan and furnace pressure respond to a step
increase in furnace pressure set point. Source: Tim Leopold

Airflow and Oxygen Trim


Forced draft fans are typically placed in automatic after the ID fan master is placed in
automatic. Usually, the FD fan master is only controlling airflow; however, some boilers are
designed with secondary airflow dampers that control the airflow. In this case the FD fan will
control the secondary air duct pressure to the dampers (Figure 2).

2. Favorite trend. I typically monitor airflow, O2 content in the flue gas, and furnace
pressure control when I tune airflow. The particular response of those variables was

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observed after a 20% load increase in coordinated control mode. Source: Tim Leopold

Air and, consequently, O2 control are critical to the safe and efficient operation of a boiler.
The airflow signal is normally measured in terms of a percentage and is usually not available
in volumetric or mass flow units. The obvious question is, "Percentage of what?" The answer
is the percentage of airflow that is available from a given fan or system of fans. The actual
measured pounds per hour of air does not matter, because air is free, and the final arbiter of
proper airflow is the O2 content in the flue gas (gases leaving the furnace). Because of
variations in coal heat content, air temperature, and combustion conditions inside a boiler,
we ensure proper burning by measuring the amount of oxygen content in the flue gas,
commonly referred to simply as O2.

Pulverized coal has an interesting property: Under certain conditions of heat in a low-oxygen
atmosphere, coal can self-ignite or even explode. Therefore, personnel safety and
equipment protection require boiler operators to maintain excess O2 in the flue gas. The
amount of excess O2 is determined by the load on the plant and the type and design of
boiler. Typically, the load signal used is steam flow. In any coal-fired boiler, airflow demand is
a function of the boiler firing rate or boiler demand (Figure 3). Gas- and oil-fired boilers have
lower O2 requirements at higher loads.

3. Extra air is a good thing. A typical O2 set point curve for a coal-fired plant is a function
of boiler firing rate or boiler demand. Minimum levels of air are required so that reducing
conditions in the furnace never occur. Source: Tim Leopold

The term cross-limiting refers to the function of fuel flow that limits the decrease in air
demand and the function of airflow that limits the increase in fuel demand. When decreasing
load, the air demand follows its lag function and the fuel demand follows the boiler demand
to ensure that there is always more air than fuel going into a furnace so explosive conditions
never develop inside the furnace. When increasing load, the opposite is true. This is truly an
elegant piece of logic.

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The output from the boiler master is the boiler demand. Cross-limited air demand is
developed by choosing the highest of four calculated values: boiler demand function, the lag
of the boiler demand signal, a minimum value (per the boiler manufacturer under the NFPA
codes), and a function of the actual fuel flow. The cross-limited fuel demand is selected from
the least of three signals: boiler demand function, a lag of boiler demand, and a function of
actual airflow. When load is increased, air demand follows the function of the boiler demand
and the fuel demand follows its lag of the boiler demand.

To develop the air demand for your boiler, hold your O2 trim controller in manual at 50%
output. At a low, medium, and high load, place your FD fan master, or secondary airflow
dampers (if the boiler is so equipped), and your fuel master in manual. Then manipulate the
airflow until you find the amount that satisfies your O2 set point requirement, using stack
opacity as a reality check on the O2 set point. Next, manipulate the airflow characterization
curve as required to allow the air demand to equal or slightly exceed the fuel flow or boiler
demand. Record the airflow required for that fuel flow and then move on to another fuel flow
setting. Three points should be sufficient for a good airflow curve.

Typically, the airflow measurement is a differential pressure taken in air ductwork and
requires a square root in order to make it linear. Ensure that your signal is also temperature-
compensated. Each boiler should have an airflow characterization curve that should be a
virtual straight line. If it isn’t, I would be concerned about unexplained "correction factors" or
"magic numbers" that should not be necessary.

Next, the characterized airflow is multiplied against a function of the O2 trim controller. The
O2 trim control loop uses the set point curve, discussed above, plus an operator bias to
calculate an O2 set point for various loads. This set point is compared with the O2 content of
the flue gas used by the control system. It is best to have several O2 measurements because
of striations or variations of temperature and oxygen that are present across the stack cross-
section.

Different plants use different measurement schemes, selecting the average, the median, or
the lowest measurement to control. O2 trim is designed to be a steady state trim of the
airflow. If you, or your tuner, are trying to control airflow with the trim controller, stop it. The
O2 trim controller should be mostly integral action with very little proportional and no
derivative gain. Your time is better spent reworking your air demand curves or airflow
characterization than attempting to tune the airflow using the O2 controls.

The output from the O2 trim control station then goes through a function generator such that
a 0% to 100% input signal equals a 0.8 to 1.2 output signal. This value is then multiplied
against the characterized airflow. This means that the O2 trim controller can adjust the airflow
±20%. In some extreme cases this amount can be varied, but for most boilers ±20% is more
than sufficient. The final result is a signal referred to as "O2 trimmed airflow." This value is
then used by the airflow controller to modulate the ID fans or dampers.

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Because O2 trim control uses a primarily integral-only controller, it does not have the
dynamic capabilities of most controllers. As a result, there are times when the controller
should not be allowed the full range of control. At low loads, typically less than 30% to 35%,
output from the O2 trim controller should not be allowed to go below 50% but should be
limited to some minimum setting so that an air-rich atmosphere is always maintained in the
furnace.

Also, when the lag function in the cross-limited air demand is driving air demand, airflow will
lag behind. That is, the air will remain elevated for a period of time as the load, and the fuel
flow, decreases. As a result, oxygen in the flue gas will spike up. If the O2 trim controller is
not limited, the controls would see the O2 go higher than the set point and start cranking,
cranking, cranking down. Then, when the load gets to where the operators have set it and
the fuel flow is no longer decreasing, airflow demand will catch up with the boiler demand,
and the O2 will quickly begin to fall. The controller will see the O 2 falling and begin to crank
up. But because there is very little, or no, proportional gain, it will take a long time to bring
the air back. This can result in an unsafe or, at the least, a nerve-wracking condition.

The NFPA requires some additional logic for the airflow control loop. There should be high
and low furnace pressure logic to block the airflow from increasing or decreasing, as is
appropriate. Because this fan forces air into the furnace, on high furnace pressure, the fan
should be blocked from increasing speed; on a low furnace pressure signal, it should be
blocked from decreasing.

Also, on an MFT there are NFPA and boiler manufacturer requirements that must be
considered. One important consideration is the need to hold the air in place for a time after
an MFT or if the airflow should drop very low during or just after a trip. The dampers should
go to a full open position shortly after the loss of all FD or ID fans (providing a natural draft
air path). Moreover, in the typical boiler air control system, if the ID fan is placed in manual,
then the FD fan is normally forced to manual. If the FD fan is in manual, then O2 trim is
forced to manual.

Drum Level and Feedwater Control


Feedwater is fed into the drum in a typical subcritical pulverized coal – fired drum boiler via
either a series of valves in parallel with a series of constant-pressure feedwater pumps or a
battery of variable-speed feedwater pumps. If the feedwater level in the drum goes too high,
water can become entrained in the steam going to the turbine and can cause catastrophic
results. If the drum feedwater level goes too low, the drum itself can become overheated,
possibly resulting in catastrophe.

Feedwater (and drum level) control has two modes of automatic operation: single- and three-
element control. The drum level set point for both modes is set by the operator. In single-
element control the difference between the drum level and the drum level set point provides

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the error signal that is used by the single-element controller to control the rate of water
entering the drum by modulating the feedwater flow control valve. Three-element control
governs the three variables, or elements, that are used in this control scheme: drum level,
steam flow, and feedwater flow.

Drum level control uses a cascaded controller scheme consisting of an outer and an inner
controller. Steam flow is an indication of the rate at which water is being removed from the
drum. A function of steam flow is used as a feedforward to the outer controller. The drum
level error is then operated on by the outer controller. The output of this controller is the
feedwater flow set point. The difference between this set point and the feedwater flow is then
operated on by the inner controller. The output from this controller is then used to modulate
the feedwater flow control valve.

Three-element control is much more stable and robust than single-element control. The
reason that we use single-element control at all has to do with the nature of the
instrumentation. Typically, feedwater flow, and occasionally steam flow, is developed by
using a flow-measuring device like an orifice plate or a flow nozzle, where flow rate is
proportional to differential pressure. However, a problem occurs at low flow rates (low boiler
load), where differential pressures are not as solidly proportional as we would like and
therefore untrustworthy for boiler control. Consequently, single-element control is used at low
loads.

A well-tuned drum level control can be placed in automatic as soon as a pump is started. By
the time steam flow has passed 25% of the total range, we can consider steam flow signals
to be reliable. That is a good point at which to switch to three-element control.

There really is not much in the way of manual interlocks or control tracking when it comes to
the drum level loop. If the drum level signal or the feedwater flow valve control output goes
out of range, or no pump is running, this station is normally locked to manual mode. That’s
about it.

Normally, tuning for the single-element controller consists of big proportional and very small
integral gain settings. Tuning for the three-element controller has some additional
requirements. As in any cascaded loop, it is absolutely crucial that the inner controller be
tuned as tightly as time will allow. The inner controller, the feedwater controller in this case,
must have an integral action that is faster than that of the outer, or drum level, controller
(Figure 4). This is true for all cascade loops.

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4. Rapid responder. A typical coal-fire boiler with a properly tuned drum level control will
respond very quickly to a substantial load increase (top) or load decrease (bottom). The
dynamic response of other key variables in boiler drum level control system is also
illustrated. Source: Tim Leopold

You may notice that as the load decreases, the drum level sags downward, and as the load
increases, the drum level is slightly elevated. This means that the steam flow feedforward is
just a tad too strong. A minute adjustment to the feedforward signal can add stability to the
control loop (Figure 5).

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5. Small is big. A small increase in the feedforward signal added more stability to the drum
level controls. Only very small incremental changes in feedforward should be made when
tuning drum level controls. Source: Tim Leopold

Superheat Temperature Control


Superheated steam temperature control is very straightforward. Normally, steam leaves the
drum and travels through a primary superheater(s) before entering the desuperheater, where
attemperating water is mixed with the steam to modulate its temperature before it enters the
next superheater section. After the steam passes through that superheater, the outlet
temperature is measured.

If the inlet temperature to the superheater is a measured variable, the preferred method of
control is a cascaded loop. In this case the outer controller uses the superheater outlet
temperature as the process variable. The output from the outer controller is the inlet
temperature set point. The output from the inner controller is spray water demand. If the
superheater outlet temperature is the only available measurement, then we are forced to use
a single-element control loop. In either case, it is important that the controls are equipped
with a feedforward signal.

A variety of signals can be used for the superheater temperature control feedforward.
Usually, the boiler demand is a good starting point for the feedforward because this signal
anticipates the measured temperature signals. My experience is that the boiler demand
usually has a well-defined relationship with the superheater temperature.

Other measured variables are available to supply the feedforward signal. Throttle pressure is
usually used in tandem with the throttle pressure set point as an indication of over- or
underfiring of the boiler, but throttle pressure is transient in nature. Airflow versus fuel flow or

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steam flow may be used in the same way. The ratio of fuel flow to the top mill versus the
other mills is a good indicator of the changing dynamics in the boiler, especially if the boiler is
large and has many burner levels. In this case it is a good rule of thumb to think of the top
elevations as affecting temperature more than pressure, and the lower elevations as
affecting steam pressure more than temperature. Finally, the reheater temperature control
affects the superheater temperature to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the type of
boiler manufacturer and its method of control.

The feedforward signal development may include both static and dynamic functionality. The
static cases are basically a function of the variable that you are using. Dynamic feedforward
refers to a derivative kick based on the movement of the chosen variable. For example, the
ratio of airflow to steam flow might be used as an indicator of the boiler’s movement up or
down, and the feedforward then can be manipulated accordingly.

Patience is a virtue when tuning these feedforwards, because steam temperature processes
may have long time constants.

Deaerator Level Control


It is often possible to use a three- element controller for deaerator level control. Whereas the
drum level controls use drum level, steam flow, and feedwater flow, the three-element
controller for the deaerator uses deaerator level, feedwater flow, and condensate flow.

It is usually not necessary to provide adaptive tuning for this control loop, but do add it if
possible.

Reheat Temperature Control


It is an interesting fact that superheater spray adds to the efficiency of a unit but reheater
spray flow decreases the unit’s efficiency. Maximum boiler efficiency is always the goal, so
boiler manufacturers have developed alternative approaches to control reheat steam
temperature.

Babcock & Wilcox uses a gas recirculation fan to move flue gas from the outlet of the boiler
back into the furnace, either directly or through the secondary air wind box. More
recirculation yields higher furnace temperature and, therefore, higher steam temperatures.
Combustion Engineering, now Alstom Power, is famous for its tangential, tilting burner
design that can move the furnace fireball vertically to control steam temperatures. Foster
Wheeler boilers use a superheat/reheat gas bypass damper to shunt flue gas to the
appropriate gas pass ducts to control reheat temperature. Spray valves are also used in
each design, although the reheat temperature set point to the spray valve controller is
usually several degrees higher to keep the reheater spray to a minimum.

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The setup for the reheat temperature spray valve control is the same as that for the
superheat temperature control: two valves (modulating valve and block valve), an
attemperator or desuperheater, and a reheater section. However, reheat steam temperature
control is not normally a cascaded loop. Assuming that the primary method of control (gas
recirculating fan, tilting burners, or bypass damper) is operating, the sprays are held in
reserve. The operator-adjustable set point is used directly by the primary control mechanism.
A sliding bias is added to the set point before it is sent to the spray controller. Usually, the
spray set point is set higher than the primary reheat temperature control set point before the
sprays are enabled, to reduce the reheater spray flow.

Part II will look at fuel flow control, pulverizer air control, and overall plant control options
such as boiler- and turbine-following modes and plant coordinated control.

–Tim Leopold (tim.leopold@hotmail.com) is a field service engineer with ABB and has more
than 20 years’ experience tuning controls on power plants around the world. His book You
Can Tune a Boiler But You Can’t Tuna Fish is slated for publication in March.

More O&M News

12/12
Boiler-Tuning Basics, Part II
powermag.com/boiler-tuning-basics-part-ii

May 1, 2009 by POWER May 1, 2009

Boilers have enormous thermal mass and are relatively slow to react. Turbines are nimble
and quickly answer an operator’s command. Coordinating an entire plant requires an
intimate knowledge of both systems and selecting the right logic tools to bring them together.

The front end, in the jargon of the power plant controls engineer, consists of the boiler master
and turbine master. As explained in Part I of this two-part series, the operator’s window into
the control system is referred to as a station or master, and it provides the operator interface
for a given control loop. Access to that loop is typically from a switch or hand station located
on the control panel in older plants or, more commonly, the operator’s keyboard in plants
fortunate enough to be equipped with digital controls.

The best case is when both the turbine and boiler masters are in the distributed control
system (DCS). But this is not always the case. We often find that only the boiler controls
have been upgraded. In such cases it is important that the DCS be able to interface with the
existing turbine controls if you want to take advantage of the DCS’s full abilities. Options for
tuning the entire plant are limited with a DCS that includes the boiler master but lacks a
communications link with the turbine controls.

Boiler Control Options


Boiler tuning is something of a balancing act. Feedwater enters the boiler through a series of
low- and high-pressure steam heaters into the drum. The water then journeys through the
water walls of the furnace and absorbs heat until steam is formed in the main steam drum.

This steam then enters the main steam line and passes through a series of superheaters and
desuperheaters until it finally ends up at the turbine governor and/or stop valves. The boiler
controls the turbine throttle pressure by modulating the boiler-firing rate. This means that the
amount of fuel and air that is going into the furnace is increased or decreased depending on
whether the turbine requires more or less steam pressure.

There are four usual modes of operation in the world of drum boilers: base mode, boiler-
following mode, turbine-following mode, and coordinated control (Table 1). Each of these
operating modes is described in the following paragraphs.

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Table 1. Options for plant boiler control. Source: Tim Leopold

In general, the boiler master will be either in auto or manual control mode. The turbine is
another matter. Turbine controls generally have a number of stand-alone loops — such as
megawatt, pressure, valve position, or speed — which are control loops that do not respond
to the DCS turbine master. If the turbine controls are not looking at the front end, then as far
as the front end is concerned, the turbine is in manual control. For our purposes, "auto"
under the turbine master heading in Table 1 means the front end is controlling the turbine
governor valves.

Base Mode. In this mode, there is no automatic response to changes in main steam or
throttle pressure or megawatt setpoint by the front-end controllers. An operator’s steady
hand is required to make the final boiler control adjustments. The turbine might be in one of
its own stand-alone loops, but the turbine master has no control of the plant. Many plants
operate in this or a similar mode prior to upgrading their turbine controls to a DCS.

Boiler-Following Mode. In this mode of operation, the boiler master is in automatic and the
turbine is not. This is an automatic control loop, controlling steam pressure. Depending on
the boiler, it can be well controlled. Generally, this is the loosest of the three typical automatic
front-end modes of operation (Figure 1).

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1. Loaded questions. A typical boiler-following response following a setpoint change.
Source: Tim Leopold

This is one of those loops that uses the dreaded derivative gain. The proportional gain is
normally pretty high, the integral action slow, and the derivative is absolutely a must. The real
keys to tuning the front end are a few simple concepts. For example, don’t add to an upset;
that is, don’t have any of your gains disproportionately high. We use the derivative because
we are trying to anticipate the steam pressure deviation.

The feedforward signal is an important part of this control loop and is often referred to as
target steam flow. Target steam flow is the measured steam flow multiplied by the ratio of
throttle pressure setpoint to throttle pressure. Typically, there is a function generator
designed such that 0% to 100% of the input signal is proportional to a 0% to 100 % output
signal. The nicely dynamic nature of the ratio helps the boiler master move in the right
direction. Additional "kickers" may also be available. One option is a throttle pressure
setpoint kicker that adds a little to the feedforward signal if the setpoint is changed. The
derivative action of the controller also acts as a kicker.

Turbine-Following Mode. In many ways, this is my favorite plant operating mode, because it
is the easiest to tune. It also offers a good strong safety net to operators in times of crisis. In
turbine-following mode the boiler master is in manual and the turbine master is in automatic
mode. The turbine master controls throttle pressure by modulating the turbine governor
valves. Megawatts are then produced in the generator and pushed to the grid as a function
of the boiler load.

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Compared to the slow and sometimes lumbering response of the boiler, turbine response is
usually fast and agile. Proportional gains are usually moderately large, and the integral
action can be quite fast. Although adaptive tuning is possible, there usually isn’t the need for
this; many units use only one value for the proportional and/or the integral gain. Also, the
need for a feedforward is minimal. The turbine governor valves operate as one large
pressure control valve that can easily control throttle pressure when the control loops are
well-tuned.

Turbine-following mode is also a favorite among operators. If the plant is in coordinated


mode, and the unit starts to go out of control for almost any reason, operators simply have to
put the boiler master into manual. Immediately, the controls will automatically default to
turbine-following mode. The valves open or close, as necessary to control the main steam
pressure. Meanwhile, because the firing rate has steadied, the boiler controls will soon settle
out.

Figure 2 plots the data taken during start-up of a 320-MW power plant. At the lower left
corner you can see where the valve transfer occurred. The valve transfer is a process in
which the turbine, upon start-up, transfers control from the stop valve to the governor valve.
There are actually two sets of valves in the main steam line before the turbine: the main stop
valve and the governor valves. The next interesting point on this figure is the area that I call
the "disturbing delta." There was a long period, during this load ramp, when the difference
(delta), between the throttle pressure and the throttle pressure setpoint was virtually constant
(the purple and green lines at the first vertical white dotted line). When we expect the
controls to act one way, and they do not, it’s time to investigate.

2. Under control. Taming a control loop that switched out the integral control on a load
ramp. Source: Tim Leopold

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During a change in unit load demand, in coordinated control, it is common practice to
decrease the integral action of the boiler master controller to zero until the load ramp is
finished. This strategy was used in all of the turbine and boiler master controller modes. This
is a case where more is definitely not better; there was a touch of feedforward, based on
boiler demand, substantial proportional gain, and no integral gain when I looked at the logic.
Tuned as it was, the error signal between throttle pressure and throttle pressure setpoint will
never go away.

I tried to tune out the error without success. Although the error decreased, as shown in
Figure 2, we soon discovered that the tuning was not robust under all operating conditions.
We then downloaded the necessary logic modifications (the second white vertical dotted
line), causing the unit to drop out of turbine-following and into base load mode, and then
back again. When the logic modifications were made, from that point on (the third white
vertical dotted line) you can see good control of the throttle pressure. This is how a well-
tuned turbine-following mode should operate.

Coordinated Control Mode


Coordinated front-end control was developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s to answer a
long-standing controls problem. For many years, the turbine master controlled megawatt
production and the boiler master controlled boiler pressure, and the two never spoke to one
another. To this day there are plants that continue to operate with no coordination between
the boiler and turbine masters.

For example, if we are in boiler-following mode, the boiler master is controlling pressure, and
if the turbine master uses the local megawatt control loop, we have what I refer to as an
"anti-coordinated" mode. If the megawatts increase, the turbine valves must close down.
When the valves close, the throttle pressure rises. When the pressure rises, the boiler
master must decrease. When the boiler decreases, the megawatts drop and the turbine
valves must open up, dropping pressure, raising the boiler demand, increasing megawatts,
closing the valves… and around we go again, and will hopelessly oscillate this way forever.

Enter boiler-turbine coordinated control, where the boiler master and turbine master are used
in tandem to control both megawatt production and throttle pressure. In coordinated mode
the boiler master looks mostly at the throttle pressure error and just a tiny bit of megawatt
error. The turbine, on the other hand looks mostly at the megawatt error with some throttle
pressure error. The expert tuning the controls must then decide how much of each to use.
The rule of thumb, as passed on to me by Al Shultz, PhD, is 10 parts throttle pressure error
to 1 part megawatt error for the boiler master; for the turbine it’s 10 parts megawatt error to 4
parts throttle pressure error.

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If there is no coordination between the boiler and turbine controls, they will fight each other to
the death. The boiler really cannot do much more than control throttle pressure, and even
then it is slow because of its massive thermal capacitance.

The turbine valves are much faster and are capable of controlling both megawatts and
pressure. The valves tap into the boiler’s thermal capacitance when the plant’s load
changes. These ratios focus the turbine controls on megawatt production with the megawatt
setpoint and throttle pressure are near the setpoint. When deviations occur, the throttle
pressure error becomes more important and slows the turbine down, moving it in the
opposite direction that a pure megawatt controller would demand. Amazingly, for all boilers
(drum or once-through, coal- or gas- or oil-fired) this rule of thumb will give you a good solid
starting point to begin tuning the front-end coordinated mode controls.

Next comes the tuning of the controllers. In general, the turbine master is the easier of the
two components to tune, so that is the one to attack first. The gains will be less aggressive
than were used for the turbine-following mode, but it is good practice to have the turbine
master control the megawatts as tightly as possible at first. If that response is too much for
the boiler to handle, the tuning can be loosened up later. Note that this will only be
proportional and integral tuning with no derivative action.

The key to tuning the boiler master is balancing the proportional, integral, and derivative
action of the controller so that the pressure is maintained with good control, moves toward
the setpoint in a timely manner, and correctly anticipates the movement of the error signal. In
general, the proportional gain will be fairly large, the integral action slow, and the derivative
gain in the controller should be relatively small.

Finally, the controls that make up the coordinated front end may use some feedforward and
the various kickers that are part of it. The feedforward signals to both the turbine and the
boiler master controllers, in coordinated mode, is a function of unit load demand.

Tuning for Unit Response


Unit load demand is the high- and low-limited and rate-limited version of the unit master
demand. The operator enters in his target megawatt load into the DCS. There are high and
low limits on what the operator can enter that are determined by the operator, the boiler and
turbine suppliers, and good practice. A unit load increase rate limit is also available to the
operator. Typical values used by the industry are 1% or 2% per minute unit load rate of
change. I have tuned boilers that can go up to 5% a minute, but nobody really uses that
value because of the wear and tear on the equipment. I normally expect to see a rate limit of
about 1 MW/minute for a 100-MW unit or 8 MW/minute for an 800-MW unit.

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The feedforward to the turbine will usually be a very weak function of unit load demand,
when used. This is because the turbine is quite capable of doing its part in this coordinated
control dance — it can respond much faster than the boiler. The feedforward to the
coordinated boiler master controller is quite different. The important aspect of feedforward is
the slope of the line. This is determined by the function of unit load as well as the rate of
change of the unit load demand chosen by the operator. This feedforward helps the boiler
master keep up with the increase or decrease in load to maintain the throttle pressure at
setpoint.

However, a simple feedforward addition is almost never sufficient for a robust coordinated
control system. Remember that the boiler is a reservoir of energy trapped by the turbine
governor valves as the load demand changes. However, it’s not an infinite reservoir, and the
main steam pressure tends to sag or balloon as the unit increases and decreases load. That
is why kicker circuits are included in the controls.

The first kicker is based on the feedforward (that is a function of unit load demand), and it
should be a derivative kick that can be tuned to minimize the pressure sag on a load change.
Remember, the closer the throttle pressure can stay to the setpoint, whatever it is, the easier
it is for the turbine to provide megawatts and the less swing will occur when the load change
is finished. Some boilers are well behaved and very responsive, so this kick is minimal.
Some boilers are not well behaved, and their kickers can be pretty substantial. There can be
other kickers, possibly based on the throttle pressure or the throttle pressure setpoint kicker,
as described for the boiler-following mode.

Practical Controls Magic


The tuning process can’t be rushed and does take some time to get right. Here is an
example. Recently, I walked into the control room of an 800-MW unit just as the operators
made a load change. As you can see, the response of the unit left something to be desired
(Figure 3).

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3. Unresponsive. A load change on this 800-MW unit showed poor response and controls
in need of a good tuning. Source: Tim Leopold

By the third day, the coordinated controls were responding well after I slightly decreased the
integral and proportional gain and increased the derivative action of the controller by about
25%. I also modified the feedforward signal slightly. Figure 4 illustrates the unit response to a
353-MW load increase test. About halfway through, the operator was unable to start an
induced-draft (ID) fan, so he changed to base mode and then to boiler-following mode. When
the ID fan was finally started, he returned to coordinated control mode. As you can see in
Figure 4, a request was received by the front end to increase load just after the operator
decided to raise his throttle pressure. This well-tuned boiler sailed through each test with
rock-solid performance.

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4. New lease on life. The same 800-MW unit as in Figure 3 showed much better response
to a load change after tuning the proportional and integral gain and increasing the derivative
action of the controller by 25%. Source: Tim Leopold

Runbacks and Rundowns


The final phase of tuning is runback testing. Turbine following is a nice safe place to retreat
to when the operator has the time to take action. However, what happens when there is no
time to react?

For these situations two control strategies are used: runbacks and rundowns. A runback is
an action taken on a loss of a major piece of equipment. Typical runbacks include coal
feeders, boiler feed pumps, or any plant fan — induced draft, forced draft (FD), or primary
air.

A rundown is a reaction to a large process error that does not go away, such as a major
boiler tube rupture. In this incident, the feedwater pumps pick up the increased feedwater
demand or the feedwater valve goes completely open, but the drum level keeps dropping.
Eventually, the plant must initiate a rundown or reduction in steam generation rather than trip
the boiler. Typical rundowns are associated with air flow, furnace pressure, fuel flow,
feedwater flow, or drum level.

Rundowns are seldom tested, on purpose, and that’s not because they are overlooked.
Rather, the logic decides if the boiler or the turbine can or should respond. If the fuel master
is in auto and looking at the boiler master for its output, then the boiler is capable of
responding, and there is no need for the turbine to respond. If the turbine is not looking at the
front-end controls for its output and the fuel master is not in auto, then the only device that
can respond is the turbine, and so it does. This last scenario has a very high potential for
tripping the unit.

Usually, the fuel master will be in auto. The boiler demand is then reduced by the rundown
logic from where it was to some value that allows the error that is driving the rundown to fall
below some preset limit. If the error does not go down, the rundown will continue to reduce
boiler load to a set minimum value.

The first runback logic that I ever came into contact with was very severe. On a loss of
equipment, the boiler controls would attempt to stay in coordinated mode. The unit load
demand would run down, at some preset, fast, rate. This would decrease the boiler demand
and the demand to the turbine governor valves. That worked all right for some boilers, but
the rate that was necessary for the boiler to get to a safe operating load was very fast. The
difficulty is that the turbine governor valve would close down at the same rate. When these

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valves close, the main steam pressure must climb and may eventually lift the boiler pressure
safety relief valves. This is very hard on the drum level and your ears, and often results in a
master fuel trip. Granted, it was a trip from a lower boiler load, rather than if we had
otherwise simply tripped the boiler, but it was a trip nonetheless.

As a result, what I like to call a kinder, gentler runback was developed. Some call it the
turbine-following runback, where the boiler switches to manual on the loss of a piece of
equipment. If you are in coordinated mode, the boiler should go to manual control and
turbine-following mode for the steam turbine. At this time, the runback logic reduces the
boiler demand to a predetermined level at a preset rate. In the meantime, the turbine is free
to control the main steam pressure. The megawatt load is then gently reduced, and the plant
experiences a soft landing. Turbine-following is the best mode to select in an emergency.

A further goal of a runback is to recover automatically so the operators can figure out what
happened to the equipment and fix it while the unit is still online and avoid a master fuel trip.

The data shown in Figure 5 were collected during an actual runback test on a 95-MW plant
that operated with three pulverizers. The runback occurred when an ID fan was tripped,
which had the effect of tripping one of the FD fans. The runback of the boiler was set to a
point that was below the three-mill minimum load for safe and stable operation. As a result,
automatic mill tripping on a runback was developed.

5. Avoiding unit trips. A runback test is necessary when any changes are made to boiler
gas pass, fans, or mills. In this test of a 95-MW unit, the runback occurred when an ID fan
was tripped. Source: Tim Leopold

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You can see the boiler demand dropping, and the fuel flow percentage dropping even further
as one of the three mills is shut down by the runback logic. The pulverizer master (coal
master demand) picks up momentarily as the mill is stopped, then ramps back down,
eventually getting the fuel percentage down to the boiler demand. Automatic mill tripping is
generally a good idea, especially on larger units with a lot of mill capacity. Also, notice how
the turbine pushes the throttle pressure back to the setpoint. Drum level also dropped slightly
before it recovered. The entire runback occurred in just over two minutes. Figure 6 is a
longer view of the entire episode.

6. Many moving parts. The same runback test (Figure 5) of a 95-MW unit but with a
longer time-span is illustrated. Here you can see the pulverizer master ramping back and the
lowering of the turbine operating pressure setpoint. Source: Tim Leopold

In this test, as is true for most of the tests I have run over the years, the fan and fuel
runbacks are easily handled by the turbine-following runback logic. However, the boiler
feedwater pump runback can be another matter. The turbine valves are relatively slow to
respond and tend to suck steam from the drum. Though some boilers are able to survive this
without tripping on low drum level, many can not.

As a result, new logic was developed. I like to call this special type of runback the separated
runback. On the loss of a boiler feed pump, the boiler master goes to manual, coal mills are
tripped, and the boiler demand is driven to minimum. The turbine master remains in auto to
stay in turbine-following mode. At this point, we add a special high-limit override enabled
during this runback that overrides the turbine-following controller and marches the governor
valves to a predetermined position. The rate at which the valves are closed is variable and

11/13
depends on the throttle pressure. Higher pressures tend to depress the drum level, which we
do not want, and really high pressures lift safeties, which started us on this runback logic
journey in the first place.

If you plan to test your runback logic, it’s a good idea to elevate the drum level a few inches
before your test. At this same 95-MW plant, we tested the boiler feedwater pump runback
using separated runback logic from 75% load with the drum level rundown initiated when the
runback was complete. Figure 7 data illustrate this successful test from the feedwater
perspective. Notice the action of the feedwater control valve. The drum level dropped about
6.5 inches. The low drum level trip was set at 7.7 inches. That was successful, but a little too
close for comfort.

7. Different perspective. The same runback test (see Figure 5) of a 95-MW unit but from
the perspective of the feedwater system. Note the drum level response. Source: Tim Leopold

When Enough Is Enough


One of the big challenges faced by a boiler and turbine controls tuner is to know when to
stop. It’s a job that has no defined stopping point, and there are always ways to further
improve performance.

So how do we know when boiler tuning is finished? Typically, I call it quits when the
operators are satisfied and, based on my experience, the plant is as good as other units I’ve
worked on over the years. Or, in the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, "I know
it when I see it."

12/13
—Tim Leopold (tim.leopold@hotmail.com) is a field service engineer with ABB and has
more than 20 years’ experience tuning controls on power plants around the world. His book,
You Can Tune a Boiler But You Can’t Tuna Fish, is available through amazon.com.

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