Processing, June 2018

Real time remote monitoring with Flowrox Smart SolutionsTM Remote monitoring tool Maintenance tool Reporting Analytics tool 18 Processing JUNE 2018 Packaged Pumping SystemsTM Increased productivity Reduced downtime Increased profitability Reduced fuel energy costs Resulting in 10 15 OPEX savings Smart SolutionsTM Monitor your pump remotely 24 7 with any mobile device PC See pump speed flow media temperature Get equipment condition problem notifications Use analytics tools for preventive maintenance Get high security standards Contact us for more information 410 636 2250 sales us@ flowrox com www flowrox com Figure 4 Adding context to data requires definition of areas of interest according to time limits patterns and or other factors Graphic courtesy of Seeq Other Valves Still Fight Friction We Designed It Out Unlike other valves that seal with friction Posi flates unique butterfly valve uses an inflatable seat to seal with air pressure Thus it requires less torque and a smaller actuator resulting in lower cost Plus the seat automatically compensates for wear providing longer life Some users have reported over 6 million cycles and the valves are still going strong Less Friction Low Torque Low Maintenance Longer Valve Life Phone 651 484 5800 www posiflate com a particular state of interest exists A capsule can be defined by time limit pattern and or other conditions Once a capsule is created the data within it can be viewed combined and manipulated by an SME to create insights The following example shows how advanced analytics can be used to improve process plant operations Reducing reheater fouling in a steam turbine Steam turbines are used in coal fired nuclear and other types of thermal power plants A boiler heats water to turn it into steam and the steam is fed to the one or more turbines The turbine is connected to a generator which spins to produce electricity There are two turbines at this facility The boiler feeds high pressure steam to spin the first turbine and low pressure steam exits the turbine This lowpressure steam is routed through the reheater section of the boiler improving the quality of the steam and increasing its temperature From the reheater the steam is fed to the low pressure turbine and exit steam from this turbine goes to the condenser and is pumped back to the boiler as a liquid Using two turbines and a reheater improves the overall heat rate which is the most commonly used measure of system efficiency in a steam power plant and is typically calculated in British thermal units kilowatt hours Btu kWh Even a very small improvement in heat rate can result in very significant bottomline impacts and one of the ways to improve heat rate is by improving reheater performance Like most heat exchangers reheaters are subject to fouling whereby undesired material is deposited on heat transfer surfaces degrading thermal and mechanical performance Fouling is a dynamic phenomenon that changes with time Fouling increases the overall thermal resistance and lowers the heat transfer coefficient of heat exchangers Fouling also impedes fluid flow accelerates corrosion and increases pressure drop across heat exchangers A power plant needed to optimize maintenance of its reheater and needed to know whether it was best to shut down a unit right away to clean the reheater or wait until the next scheduled shutdown The plant needed to create a fouling model based on operating conditions but the data was very noisy making it extremely difficult to measure the degree of fouling The plants reheater expert used Seeq advanced analytics software to create the model and determine the optimum time for maintenance The first step was to define the time periods for analysis by adding context using the softwares data search tool and to then set certain variables such as ambient conditions and enthalpy flow in steam at constant values As shown in Figure 5 context was created by comparing three key variables derived from the data and displaying each on a graph the ratio of exit gas temperature to the reheater damper position green trace the reheat steam enthalpy flow purple trace and exit gas temperature energy orange trace