Planning for Extensive Validation of the Siemens H-Class Gas Turbine SGT5-8000H at the Power Plant Irsching

In response to the increasing world-wide need for reliable, lowest-cost and environmentally compatible generation of energy, Siemens Energy has developed a new generation of H-class gas turbines with a power of 530+ MW and an efficiency of more than 60% in combined-cycle. The SGT5-8000H has been developed based on an evolutionary innovation concept which can be characterized by a technology platform strategy and prior component pre-validation. To ensure that the new product line can be brought to market with extensive testing and operation experience under real power plant conditions, a comprehensive validation program was launched in December 2007 at the prototypical power plant in Irsching. The 18 month validation program consists of multiple measurement campaigns, covering the full operation range starting from the hot commissioning to a final endurance test in single-cycle configuration. To gain the required data for the validation, the SGT5-8000H prototype has been equipped with close to 3000 measuring sensors and an extensive data acquisition system. For the realization of the largest gas turbine validation program ever conducted by Siemens, innovation in various aspects of test execution and evaluation had to be realized. Dedicated teams are operating and monitoring the engine operation from on-site and from the world-wide engineering locations utilizing real-time data acquisition, monitoring and evaluation methods. This paper describes the infrastructure and settings of the validation program in terms of the testing scope, facilities, methods and tools.