One of the unique aspects of the 7F Users Group’s 2020 Digital Conference is the opportunity to interact online with the OEM and nearly 50 third-party solutions providers. Ten companies in the latter group were selected by the steering committee to conduct live technical presentations of one or two hours during Weeks Two, Three, and Four of the five-week program ending July 16.
The remaining solutions providers participated in the conference with virtual booths in the Vendor Fair conducted Tuesday and Wednesday of Week One. They connected directly with users via video (or audio) conferencing platforms. They also provided recorded technical presentations for users to access on-demand throughout the year, which can be viewed below.
In case you missed the opportunity to visit with one or more of these companies at the Vendor Fair, the editors provide below brief summaries of the products/services they showcased along with links to that information. The names of experts to contact for details are included.
Suppliers not included in the list below either appeared last week (Allied Power Group, GTC Control Solutions, Nel Hydrogen, Nitto Inc, Parker Hannifin Corp, Dekomte de Temple, Conax Technologies, Donaldson Company, ESC/Spectrum, and Hilco) or will be profiled in CCJ ONsite before our coverage of the 7F meeting concludes on July 20.
Mercer Thompson LLC and IEM Energy Consultants
Ensuring your LTSA is fit for the future
Many owners are rethinking their LTSAs given the proliferation of renewable resources challenging the operation of traditional fired assets. Jason Yost of Mercer Thompson, a frequent speaker at user-group meetings, and IEM Energy Consultants’ Bill Ray and Craig Nicholson, say contracts negotiated years ago may not be calibrated for future needs. The speakers discuss some of the key areas and potential opportunities to consider, plus steps that can be taken to ensure owners are best positioned to effectively negotiate or renegotiate their LTSAs. Takeaways include negotiating strategies, best practices, and how to avoid common and costly pitfalls in the negotiation process.
AP+M
“Outage in a Box”consumable kit solution for GE Frame 6B/7E/7F engines
Craig Sonnenberg and Jerrod Walters combined for a deep dive into AP+M’s “Outage in a Box®”—one or more containers containing all the consumables required onsite for maintenance outages. The custom, cost-effective packages are delivered directly to the outage site. Walters and Sonnenberg say the company can provide a wide variety of parts from its global network—including engine, package, and BOP parts and components, inlet evap cooling misting nozzles, inlet filters, etc. Services offered include replacements of control, engine-support, and BOP systems.
Braden Filtration LLC
Advancements in nanofiber technology for pulse filters
If you’ve ever ordered gas-turbine inlet filters, you likely know the name Mcleod Stephens. He’s been serving users for four decades in management positions at three filter manufacturers. But what you may not know is that in the last year Stephens helped to form Braden Filtration LLC, where he is general manager, after purchasing the manufacturing assets from Braden Manufacturing parent Innova Global.
He discusses how the technology of nanofiber manufacturing and application has improved over the years, and how those changes and improvements—targeted at pulse-type air-inlet systems—came about and why. Takeaways for users include the following:
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- How filter life can be impacted positively by new, contemporary nanofiber applications.
- How flow resistance is reduced.
- How pulse-cleaning frequency can improve service life.
- How recent design changes to the media substrates contribute to better performance.
Bureau Veritas
Adjusting turbine-oil monitoring to the current situation
Jorge Alacorn, senior consultant and thought leader on the subject of “Reliability through Oil Conditioning Monitoring and Predictive Analytics” as applied to maintenance, focuses Texas-based Bureau Veritas’ presentation on how to maximize the life of turbine oil by combining appropriate condition tests based on the application, risk of failure, and plant reliability objectives.
He and colleagues Jeremy Erndt and Barry Cato, help owners/operators:
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- Select the correct oil analysis for their plants.
- Understand the importance of a proper oil analysis.
- Use oil condition monitoring as a predictive tool to avoid a turbine shutdown.
Services offered by the company include oil condition monitoring, plant lubrication audits, boiler and pressure-vessel inspection, ISO 15001 auditing and training, and leak detection.
Groome Industrial Service Group LLC
AIG tuning and permanent sampling grid
Jeff Bause and Steve Houghton explain how Groome’s turnkey services enable owner/operators to reduce harmful emissions, improve plant performance, and extend the lifetimes of critical equipment. They go on to say the company’s philosophy is simple: Provide quality, innovative services at a reasonable price for its five maintenance service lines—HRSG and refinery maintenance, industrial cleaning and support, surface preparation and coatings, and door and mechanical services.
HRSG maintenance, the service line of greatest interest to 7F users, is supported by strategic alliances with industry experts and catalyst manufacturers to ensure Groome offers the most widely supported and comprehensive turnkey services available in the industry. Specific services include the following:
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- SCR catalyst systems.
- CO catalyst systems.
- AIG systems and controls.
- Retrofit and installation.
- Boiler tube cleaning.
- Industrial coatings.
Pioneer Motor Bearing Co
The “care and feeding” of fluid-film bearings
Dr Lyle Branagan, Pioneer Motor Bearing’s engineering manager, is well respected in the electric-power community for his deep knowledge of bearings. Branagan’s 7F presentation focuses on damage mechanisms found in fluid-film bearings for motors, turbines, and generators. Topics including theory of operation, bearing design features and materials of construction, and lubrication basics are reviewed in brief at the beginning of the presentation. This information serves as a backgrounder for the ensuing discussion of some typical damage mechanisms observed in today’s bearings—with an eye toward prevention of recurrence and recovery from the problem.
Branagan’s goal is to give attendees the ability to examine post-service bearings with a better perception as to how markings and damage to the bearing surface would affect continued operation and long-term reliability. Owner/operators will come away with an ability to relate those damage markings to some specific degraded conditions in the machine—such as shaft currents and misalignment.
Pioneer Motor Bearing specializes in the repair and service of large oil-lubricated bearings, with a focus on engineering problem-solving. The company, a license of Siemens Energy, GE, and the UK’s Mitchell Bearings, may be best known to users for its Babbitt-bearing repairs, new manufacture, reverse engineering, upgrades and custom designs, and technical support.
VAW Systems Ltd
Exhaust system retrofit approach
VAW Systems’ core business is the design and manufacture of engineered noise control products for gas turbines, fans, steam vents, and other applications. Dominic Crnkovich and Dennis Seltz introduce owner/operators to the company’s line of silencers, filtration systems, and related components that promise to meet the high performance and quality demands of modern powerplants. The speakers say users can expect high acoustic performance within a relatively small footprint, plus low pressure drop in applications requiring that.
Segments of the presentation likely to be of greatest interest to users is an overview of exhaust-system failures and new challenges, the company’s approach to exhaust-system repair/replacement, and improvements for system longevity.
National Electric Coil
An improved self-locking amortissuer finger and spring assembly for 7FH2 generator rotors
Bill Harris, NEC’s field services manager for rotating electrical equipment, presents on the importance to generator reliability of the Inconel Spring incorporated into the amortisseur/damper segment of 7FH2 rotors.
The Inconel Spring, he says, is prone to traveling on an axial migration path towards the retaining ring. Migration can lead to blocked cooling passages and the further effects of uneven heating across the rotor. Additionally, if the Inconel Spring makes its way under the retaining ring, damage to retaining-ring insulation can result—possibly even a ground fault.
Harris reviews the mechanisms of spring migration on the rotor components during operation and explains the structure and important function of the rotor’s amortisseur/damping system.
NEC is a company that needs no introduction to most powerplant owner/operators. It specializes in shop and onsite repair and upgrade services for generators and rotating exciters of all makes and models and sizes. NEC also is an experienced winding manufacturer.
Nord-Lock Group
Coupling-bolt issues and solutions with EzFit
Steve Brown, Nord-Lock’s resident expert on expansion bolts, shows how a technology that has proven effective in critical power-generation applications is eliminating the costly, time-consuming challenge presented by seizure-prone fitted coupling bolts during outages. It highlights recent cases that demonstrate the technology’s value in the field. Plus, it offers preemptive steps that plant personnel can take to minimize flange-bolt faults in future maintenance situations.
Brown presents on the downsides and risks of using conventional bolts for turbine/generator coupling and helps users better understand the principles of mechanical expansion bolts—what they are, how they work, and how they mitigate the problems associated with conventional bolts.
Rochem Technical Services
Compressor cleaning best practices
Following an introduction by Managing Director Martin Howarth, Steve Engelhoff, a familiar face at user meetings in the US, discusses cleaning best practices based on the company’s technical expertise and field experience. Recall that Rochem offers a range of gas-turbine cleaning systems, precision-designed nozzles, and specialist compressor cleaning chemicals to help keep GTs operating a peak efficiency. The company’s Fyrewash products are designed to address all types of fouling and to meet OEM and environmental standards worldwide
