Increasing energy costs and environmental pressures encourage steam turbine users to find the most economical and efficient operation points for their plant. Main steam flow to the turbine is one of the key measurements to determine turbine efficiency and performance. Conventional inferred mass flow measurements, using pressure readings from the turbine first stage, have inherent inaccuracies and assumptions that often lead to incorrect steam flow readings. If those reading accuracies can be improved, the turbine operator will see many advantages, including improved fuel intake and heat rate measurements, higher turbine efficiency over varying loads, better steam control, and increased power generation. Since fuel contributes almost 50% of the total variable cost of electricity generation, operators are discovering the cost benefit of adding direction main steam line flow measurement. This paper compares and contrasts various techniques for computing steam mass flows in utility boilers and outlines the operational benefits of using real time main steam line flowmeters over inferential steam flow computations. Also, a case study is presented which highlights the operational improvements of direct steam flow measurement.
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ASME 2007 Power Conference
July 17–19, 2007
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Power Division
ISBN:
0-7918-4273-8
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Main Steam Line Flow Measurement Available to Purchase
Mike Montgomery,
Mike Montgomery
Emerson Process Management, Boulder, CO
Search for other works by this author on:
Stephen A. Ifft
Stephen A. Ifft
Emerson Process Management, Boulder, CO
Search for other works by this author on:
Mike Montgomery
Emerson Process Management, Boulder, CO
Stephen A. Ifft
Emerson Process Management, Boulder, CO
Paper No:
POWER2007-22189, pp. 359-365; 7 pages
Published Online:
April 21, 2009
Citation
Montgomery, M, & Ifft, SA. "Main Steam Line Flow Measurement." Proceedings of the ASME 2007 Power Conference. ASME 2007 Power Conference. San Antonio, Texas, USA. July 17–19, 2007. pp. 359-365. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/POWER2007-22189
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