During commissioning of a gas turbine power plant it is usual to check if the performance as written in the contract are being fulfilled. Through degradation and fouling of components, the gas turbine performance will decrease in time. This also is – more and more – being written in the contract with the manufacturer. Measuring of the actual performance to verify guaranteed values has become essential. Furthermore, for good operations, it is necessary to know the actual performance of gas turbine power plant. After all, less efficiency and power output have a financial pay-off. Besides this, you get insight information if, for example, the cleaning of the compressor produces the desired results.

KEMA executes for many years performance measurements on gas turbine power plants. Besides this, KEMA developed software for on-line monitoring of the performance of power plants. Furthermore, we can serve and support you by the evaluation of performance characteristics and with trouble shooting.

KEMA uses special tools for analyzing the operation of your combined cycle plant such as process simulators like SPENCE® for stationary calculations of the gas turbine and the heat recovery steam generator and PROTRAX for dynamical simulation of the plant.

CHARGE! Is an expert system for calculating investments in Combined Heat and Power Plants. There is a Materials Database available with up-to-date information.

With our knowledge of thermodynamics and process simulations, we can determine the feasibility and cost of any modification, like inlet cooling by fogging or wet compression, fuel preheating et cettera.

We can evaluate the tenders you receive for your improvements, monitor the projects, and if you require, carry out guarantee tests.

If necessary we can go into vary detail to solve boiler problems or preventing leaking pipes. In that case we will consider all pipes separately and use two phase flow calculations in the evaporators.

For operation analyses we can develop models of your combined cycle, which allows you to perform so called What-if analyses. So you can predict the performance of your plant for other outlet conditions like ambient temperature, humidity and cooling temperatures or varying heat deliveries of your co-generation plants.

To prevent problems with the changed operation mode of combined cycles we can perform dynamical calculations to figure out the maximum allowed load changes to prevent to high stresses in the piping.

Also we can provide you with trainer simulation models of your plant.

"What is your machinery capable of?"

Your situation

How much fuel do you use for every kilowatt-hour? Is your machinery as efficient as it should be? Are the key parameters in accordance with the concrete values? For more than thirty years, KEMA has been giving power producers the answers to questions such as these. Carrying out guarantee tests all over the world and undertaking heat rate measurements at Dutch power plants is second nature to KEMA. With the forthcoming introduction of separately negotiated power supply contracts, it will be essential for power producers to have reliable information about components, plant conditions and efficiency, which influence the performance on the market. This means that, in the liberalised energy market, KEMA’s services will be more valuable than ever. Besides, KEMA has benchmarked all Dutch power plants for over fifteen years. 

Our approach?

A co-generation plant is a major investment and will remain in use for a long period. Consequently, if its performance is so much as a few tenths of one per cent less than it should be, the cumulative cost is enormous. Therefore, many companies ask hardware suppliers to provide performance guarantees. When a new plant is commissioned, KEMA is often called in as an independent party to check whether the terms of the guarantee are met. Independent verification of this kind is important to both the supplier and the purchaser.

KEMA also has broad experience with and expertise in heat rate measurement. Information about plant efficiency, conditions, fuel consumption and gas turbine performance is vital. It is important to test unit-specific control variables, such as maximum and minimum capacity, as well. In the free market each production site has to win contracts. And, to do so, you have to know exactly what your machinery is capable of.

Your benefits

Guarantee tests quickly pay for themselves. Especially, if it proves that there is something amiss. A plant or system that does not perform as expected or does not meet the thermodynamic requirements can cause all sorts of difficulties. Difficulties that can be costly for supplier and purchaser alike. Disputes always mean delays and can lead to lengthy legal proceedings. By carrying out guarantee tests prior to commissioning, all such problems can be avoided. Testing identifies faults at the outset, facilitating corrective action. Furthermore, KEMA’s reputation in this field means that the test results have unrivalled authority, which means that you can benefit from the following:

• it is guaranteed that your supplier has met the obligations
• you will know exactly what your machinery is capable of
• the costs will be kept under control
• you will have insight in the minimum and maximum capacity of the unit.  

By undertaking heat consumption measurements you gain a clear insight in the output, conditions and consumption of the unit.

ThermoWare™ is a software package developed by KEMA Power Generation & Sustainables for Performance Monitoring of Power Plants. Gas Turbines, Compressors and other main energy conversion equipment.

ThermoWare™ contains several modules which enable the user to build thermodynamic models, configure data-acquisition tasks, configure on- and off-line graphical presentation of measured and calculated data to generate several types of reports. All graphics and reports can easily be transferred to the Office environment of MicroSoft. ThermoWare™ has proven stable operation under MicroSoft Windows 95/98/NT 4.0. ThermoWare™is delivered on a CD and is installed by a standard set-up procedure. Usage of the package is protected by key.

ThermoWare™is used by KEMA for performance tests and long term monitoring. Performance Testing groups in Romania and Ukraine are using ThermoWare™ for the same purpose. Within the Netherlands and abroad, ThermoWare™is used as a performance monitoring tool for coal fired power stations, combined cycles, gas turbines drives and compressors.

Compressor blade fouling leads to both production loss and efficiency loss, therefore costing the gas turbine operators lots of money. Based on experiences from a KEMA research project this may add up to several tens of millions of euro’s.

In order to minimise this problem, two basic approaches (or, as in most cases, a combination of the two) are possible:

• air filtration as a preventive measure
• compressor cleaning as a corrective measure.    

But as with fouling, also with air filtration and compressor cleaning costs are involved. To operators stand for the difficult task of finding the optimum from an economical point of view. To come to optimised choices, which are mostly plant and operation specific technical performance data and economical effect data are vital.

Not only on basis of the average loss of power a classification of air filter installations can be made. In order to get a right impression of the performances of air filter installations the fouling trends have to be coupled to the meteorological conditions at the location, which have to be measured in the same period.

From this subject it occurs that there is not something like an generic optimum filter installation. The most profitable financial solution depends on the area, dust load, type of weather and type of operation and therefore always will be tailor made. Research however, gave a number of clear indications in order to make underpinned selections.

From the financial analysis it becomes clear that there is a significant saving potential if the effects of compressor fouling can be minimised. This can be achieved either by preventive measures (air filtration), or corrective measures, by compressor cleaning with the right frequency and the right method. With reference to filter unit construction in future, in the design phase it is recommended to take notice of potential profits, which can be obtained in future operations.

For more information please contact us.