BEST PRACTICE ADVICE Best Practice Centre Steam Turbine Catastrophe A steam turbine catastrophe occurred in an incident when the steam turbine tripped due to an unknown condition within the turbine hydraulic system. The throttle and governor valves closed but not completely. The pilot valves could not seat completely and the governor valve didnt seat due to a jamming valve stem. The generator breaker opened and consequent to this load throw-off the machine over sped within seconds of unit trip resulting in a catastrophe. The centrifugal forces caused failure of generator rotor retaining rings, rotor wedges and turbine blade shrouding exciter and bearings came off their mountings resulting in breaking of generator casing from thrown elements. This in turn released hydrogen from generator causing explosion and creating a pressure transient in the turbine room blowing out exterior block wall. Over speed events are predominantly a consequence of valves (stop valve, control valve and/or extraction valves) failing to close wherein the steam ow doesnt cease even after turbine rejects load following a turbine trip. Over speed can break shaft, damage turbine blades and/ or burst the generator rotor retaining rings. The best practices to prevent such steam turbine catastrophe include but not limit to the following: Daily Visual inspection of stop and control valves. Weekly Cycle/exercise of turbine main-steam stop & throttle/control valves, combined reheat stop and intercept valve ensuring their proper closing. Internal inspection of main stop, throttle, control, extraction and non-return valves (wear, seat leakage, indications of damage) bi-annually. Annual visual inspection and functional testing of stop, throttle, control, extraction non-return, & other critical valves ensuring their proper closing. Test over speed and vacuum trip device annually (mechanical trips can be tested bi-annually if primary system is electronic). Background The majority of large-scale power plants use steam turbines which are high hazard to the plants. They, therefore, become the obvious focus of best preventive maintenance practices. One of the most critical and paramount essentials amongst all the best practices are the steam turbine valves operation and maintenance which forms the basis of this bulletin. STEAM TURBINE VALVES O&M Some plants have seen a tendency of the throttle valves to stick, particularly during start-up. They also experience steam ow and speed increase of turbine after a full-load unit trip. This clogging/sticking of main steam stop valves and control valves due to system corrosion and excessive magnetite layer formation results owing to many factors in conjunction such as poor ltration in steam and condensate systems, HSRSG start up chemistry parameters not being controlld before latching/connecting it to steam header (especially in frequent start/stop scenarios), frequent switching of de-aerators (D/A) from pressurized to vacuum operation (in plants having such operation for D/As), HRSGs lying depressurized without preservation for extended time, improper chemistry of condensate returning back from cogeneration process (such as Desalination units), incorrect location of chemical injection points in the water circuits and un-reliable online analyzers. A fully edged Root Cause Analysis (RCA) needs to be carried out in the plants facing sticking turbine valve problems and recommendations need to be completed on top priority basis. Start-up procedures should include verication of Throttle Valve closure at 600 RPM prior to placing unit on-line. Include Zero Speed check before turning gear operation into the steam turbine shut down procedure in order to ensure no leakage of the Throttle Valves prior to closing the boiler header valve. Summary The healthiness of steam turbines depends essentially on how well the turbine valves are operated and maintained. This aspect is primarily important not only because Insurance Companies are interested in it to limit risk exposures but also because plant owners can curtail costly downtime and turbine failures in addition to reduce the insurance premiums. References America Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) Performance Test Code 6 America Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) Performance Test Code 6 Report America Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) Performance Test Code 6A America Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) Performance Test Code 6S Report, IND. STD; Insuring Best Practices Power Engineering Contact us For further information please contact our Engineering Practice Leader for Power & Utilities Calum Wood +44 (0)v203 206 8139 cwood@torusinsurance.com This publication is intended as a general overview and discussion of topics that might be relevant to insureds and it is not intended to be, and should not be used as, advice in relation to any specic situation nor a representation of Torus view on any particular risk, circumstance or claim. Torus Insurance Company (either Torus Insurance (UK) Limited, Torus Specialty Insurance Company Torus National Insurance Company, Torus Insurance (Europe) AG or Torus Insurance (Bermuda) Limited, collectively Torus) will accept no responsibility for any actions taken or not taken on the basis of this publication. If you would like further advice, please contact chalm@torusinsurance.com Copyright 2010 Torus Insurance Company. All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting Rotating Machinery: Including Centrifugal Pumps and Compressors, Reciprocating Pumps and Compressors, Fans, Steam Turbines, Electric Motors, and More