2022 Power Users Mega Event: Wednesday Highlights (Aug 31)

GUG. Siemens presents in the morning, GE in the afternoon. Siemens topics include the following: Generator monitoring (case studies), FASTWedge, major findings in the fleet, enhancements for robotics inspections, optical flux probe, pole cross over (tutorial), generator purging, flexible connectors (tutorial).

GE’s presentation topics: Hydrogen leakage investigations, TIL-2260—MELCO-built core iron looseness, TIL-2337—Rotor core migration, TIL-2323—H65/H84 nozzle-assembly design update, H65/H84 seal-ring RCA, supply chain issues, collector-ring flashover prevention, air-cooled collector megger issues, generator fan design, robot development updates.

PPCUG. The day is dominated by Baker Hughes and GE; user presentations and group discussion are scheduled from 3 p.m. to 5.

Baker Hughes will present a controls overview, supply-chain update, and summary of current and future offerings before the morning break at about 9:45. Then GE takes over. Its topics:

• Supply chain/obsolescence.
• From theory to practice.
• Inside the black box.
• System advancements—safety, controllers, foundation field bus.
• Controls Technical Information Letters and accessories.

CCUG. Wednesday is reserved for MD&A and the turbine OEMs. MD&A launches the day right after breakfast with these two presentations:

• Steam-turbine valve outages: Common issues.
• Unintended reliability risks through parts replacement/obsolescence.

A safety discussion follows until the morning break at 9:45 a.m.

The Siemens team follows MD&A with presentations on cybersecurity, battery technology advancements, plant operating flexibility, and upgrade assessments.

GE dominates the afternoon with presentations on market analytics, decarbonization, transformers, impact of increased low-load operation and cycling on steam turbines and HRSGs, and HRSG lifecycle management.

STUG. MD&A takes the reins for the first half of the morning session, advising users on what to focus on during their first, second, third, and later majors. Discussions on long-term planning and lifecycle management follow. Inspection and maintenance of Rexroth actuators for turbine valves takes the group to the mid-morning break.

GE steps to the podium after refreshments and holds the mic until closing at 5:30. The lineup of topics:

• Recent TILs and top issues.
• Importance of insulation and indicators of concern.
• Service best practices.
• Water-induction impacts and potential root cause.
• Outage planning and forecasting emergent work based on fleet experience.
• Improving outage OTD (FieldCore).
• Upgrade experience.
• Combined-cycle steam-turbine outage 101.

LCPG. PSM leads off the day with presentations on hydrogen economy with a focus on pathways to decarbonization and H2 retrofits for today and the future. User roundtable on battery storage technology and experience fill in the second half of the morning session. Afternoon session belongs to Siemens, whose topics will focus on H2 co-firing, H2 electrolyzer production, and both battery and thermal energy storage options.

7EA. Wednesday is GE Day, featuring presentations and breakout sessions until the gavel comes down at 5 p.m. The breakout roundtables cover the waterfront: cogeneration, peakers, repairs, controls and software, asset management for casings and rotors, field services, generator recommendations, accessories and balance-of-plant tips, repairs/field services.

Frame 6B. The morning program features roundtables and user presentations on the air inlet section of the engine and the compressor. Between the roundtables is a vendor presentation, “Mobil Solvancer: Improving turbine reliability and reducing the cost of operation through advanced technologies.”

Combustion and turbine sessions are in the afternoon, along with vendor presentations on the current and future capabilities of the 6B burning hydrogen, and combustion system optimization.

Frame 5. The final day of this user-group meeting features three training workshops: generators (Jamie Clark, AGT Services Inc), controls (Abel Rochwarger, GTC Control Solutions), and turbine rotor (Paul Tucker, FIRST). Each runs for an hour and three-quarters. User presentations and roundtable discussions fill the remaining time on topics such as maintenance strategies and equipment aging.