Performance Analysis and Economic Effects of Maintenance and Hot Gas Path Inspection in A Combined Cycle Power Plant

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Performance Analysis and Economic Effects of Maintenance and Hot Gas Path
Inspection of a Combined Cycle Power Plant
Research · December 2015

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3088.5201
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Seconda Università degli studi di Napoli
DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA INDUSTRIALE E DELL’INFORMAZIONE
CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE IN

INGEGNERIA MECCANICA
Performance Analysis and Economic Effects of

Maintenance and Hot Gas Path Inspection in a
Combined Cycle Power Plant
RELATORE CANDIDATO
PROF. ING. A. UNICH ANTONIO CILINDRO

CORRELATORI MATRICOLA
ING. S. ISOPPO A19/216

ING. S. SIMONINI
Anno Accademico 2014/2015

Abstract
Nowadays the electricity market is becoming a more and more competitive field, as a
result of it opening up to the free market. The owners and operators of power
generators must produce energy as efficiently as possible in order to offer a better price
to its customers. Beside the market demands, the reliability, availability and efficiency
of the power plant must continually improve. In order to achieve these goals, innovative
design must be implemented alongside the use of advanced materials. In addition,
effective ongoing maintenance is crucial.
The role of maintenance is to reduce unexpected outages. The most effective

maintenance plan must guarantee the minimum standstill time.
Therefore, the following document has the goal to investigate the economic aspects of
maintenance, taking into account its effect on efficiency. It also discusses the energy
market (electricity and fuel price) and its role in driving the decisions made in a power
plant, particularly the maintenance schedule.
Therefore, the first chapter deals with the Energy Market, in particular the trend of the
Natural Gas price, electricity price and electricity demand, since they are the main
factors influencing the decisions in a power plant.
The second chapter introduces the Combined Cycle Power Plants (CCPPs) underlining
the thermodynamics of the Rankine and Brayton cycle and the importance of Combined
Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) in the Italian Energy Market.
The third chapter introduces and describes the power plant, which is the subject of
analysis. This description is fundamental to develop an understanding of the
2
maintenance operations since maintenance involves all the components describe in
this chapter.
Maintenance theory is the topic of Chapter Four. It mainly discusses Gas Turbine
Maintenance, including main Gas Turbine inspections and typical nondestructive tests
(NDT). The analyzed maintenance operation is part of Ansaldo Performance Focused
Maintenance (PFM); therefore, PFM is included in this chapter.
The fifth chapter deals with the case study, involving the hot gas path inspection (HGPI)
of a Gas Turbine and the analysis of performance after it. All maintenance steps, tests
and corrective actions are described in this chapter and it ends with a cost analysis, in
order to evaluate the convenience of maintenance.
Maintenance is of crucial importance in the power production field and it always

represents a relevant expense among the operational costs. However, the increment
in availability and reliability justify maintenance.
3
Acknowledgments
Firstly, I must express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor A. Unich for his invaluable
support, technical and moral. My esteem for him is immense and I believe that our
relationship goes far beyond the mere lecturer-student bond; I consider it rather a
friendship and I am quite sure that after this thesis, it will last.
I would like to thank my other supervisor, Dr. S. Isoppo, because he gave me the
opportunity to join his team as intern and, in particular, I must thank Dr. S. Simonini
who was always available to answer all my questions about the power plant.
The team was great (Giosanto, Stefano, Angelo, Antonino, Lucio and all the workers I
cannot remember); they were indispensable for this thesis involving so many different
fields. In particular, I would like to express my infinite gratitude to Luca, because he
made this internship possible and to Roberto, because he shared with me more than
his desk.
Last but not least, I want to thank Dr. A. Lee for his technical and linguistic support.
There are many other people that made this milestone of my life possible; although
none of them is an engineer or a technician, they were likewise necessary.
4
Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................2
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................4
Contents .......................................................................................................................5
List of Figures...............................................................................................................9
List of Tables .............................................................................................................. 14
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. 15
1. Italian Electricity Market ....................................................................................... 22
1.1 Current Institutions and Electric System ....................................................... 22
1.2 Italian supply and demand ............................................................................ 26
2. Combined Cycle Power Plants ............................................................................ 35
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 35
2.2 CCGT ........................................................................................................ 39
2.2.1 Gas Turbine ............................................................................................ 42
2.2.2 Steam turbine ......................................................................................... 45
2.2.3 Steam Generator .................................................................................... 49
2.2.4 Generators ............................................................................................. 51
2.2.5 Other equipment ..................................................................................... 51
2.2.6 Operating parameters............................................................................. 52
2.2.7 State-of-the-art ....................................................................................... 52
2.2.8 Economic Aspects .................................................................................. 55
2.3 Summary ................................................................................................... 59
5
3. Calenia Power Plant ............................................................................................ 60
3.1 Gas Turbine .................................................................................................. 62
3.2 Axial Compressor ...................................................................................... 69
3.3 Combustion Chamber ................................................................................ 77
3.4 Axial Turbine .............................................................................................. 84
3.5 Design for Maintenance ............................................................................. 86
3.6 Steam Turbine ........................................................................................... 87
3.7 HRSG ........................................................................................................ 94
3.8 Air condenser........................................................................................... 102
4 Maintenance Theory .......................................................................................... 105
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 105
4.2 Economics of Reliability .............................................................................. 109
4.3 GT Maintenance ......................................................................................... 113
4.3.1 Hot Gas Path Inspection....................................................................... 120
4.3.2 Major Inspection or Major Overhaul...................................................... 135
4.4 Non Destructive Test .................................................................................. 136
4.4.1 Visual Inspection .................................................................................. 136
4.4.2 Dye Penetrant Testing (PT) .................................................................. 137
4.4.3 Eddy Current Testing (ET).................................................................... 139
4.4.4 Ultrasonic Testing (UT)......................................................................... 140
4.4.5 Magnetic Particle Testing (MT) ............................................................. 142
4.5 CCPP Startup ............................................................................................. 143
4.6 Garanzia Totale di Funzionamento ............................................................. 147
6
4.6.1 Maintenance Schedule for a CCGT ...................................................... 148
4.6.2 Periodical Inspections – Predictive Analysis ......................................... 150
4.6.3 Routine Maintenance............................................................................ 153
4.6.4 Planned Maintenance ........................................................................... 154
4.6.5 Extraordinary Maintenance ................................................................... 155
4.6.6 Organizational structure ....................................................................... 156
5. Hot Gas Path Inspection of GT .......................................................................... 161
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 161
5.2 Activity Journal ............................................................................................ 165
5.3 Findings and Corrective Actions ................................................................. 172
5.4 Post maintenance phase............................................................................. 187
5.4.1 Natural Gas Leakage............................................................................ 190
5.4.2 Vibrations over the range measured at the exhaust-end bearing ......... 192
5.5 Performance Analysis ................................................................................. 195
5.5.1 Ambient Pressure Influence ................................................................. 197
5.5.2 Ambient Temperature Influence ........................................................... 199
5.5.3 Humidity Influence ................................................................................ 202
5.5.4 Analysis on an Ansaldo V94.3 A2 Gas Turbine .................................... 212
5.6 Cost Analysis .............................................................................................. 219
5.6.1 HGPI Costs .......................................................................................... 219
5.6.2 Efficiency improvement and economic convenience ............................ 225
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 229
References ............................................................................................................... 231
7
Definitions ................................................................................................................ 236
Annex A ................................................................................................................... 241
8
List of Figures
FIGURE 1-1 COORDINATION AMONG MAIN INSTITUTIONS [2] .............................................. 25

FIGURE 1-2 LOAD CURVES FOR TYPICAL ELECTRICITY GRID [SOURCE: VENCORP] .............. 26
FIGURE 1-3 DAILY CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRICITY IN ITALY (17/06/2015)[53] ................... 27
FIGURE 1-4 AVERAGE DAILY CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRICITY AND ELECTRICITY PRICE
(MARCH 2014) [54] ............................................................................................... 28
FIGURE 1-5 ELECTRIC TRADE IN BILLION KW H (2015)[54] ................................................ 29
FIGURE 1-6 PURCHASE PRICE TREND OF ELECTRICITY IN ITALY BETWEEN JUNE 2014-JUNE
2015 [SOURCE: GME] ........................................................................................... 30
FIGURE 1-7 ENERGY PURCHASE PRICE AND ITS TRADED AMOUNT [SOURCE: GME] ............ 31
FIGURE 1-8 ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS PRICE IN EUROPE [55]................................. 32
FIGURE 1-9 AVERAGE PRICE OF NATURAL GAS IN ITALY [SOURCE: GME] .......................... 33
FIGURE 1-10 ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN ITALY [SOURCE: GME] ....................................... 33
FIGURE 2-1 CCGT THERMODYNAMIC CYCLE ................................................................... 39
FIGURE 2-2 IDEAL AND REAL BRAYTON CYCLE ................................................................ 42
FIGURE 2-3 BRAYTON CYCLE WITH REHEAT[56] ............................................................. 44
FIGURE 2-4 BRAYTON CYCLE WITH INTERCOOLING [56] ................................................... 44
FIGURE 2-5 IDEAL RANKINE CYCLE [56] ......................................................................... 45
FIGURE 3-1 CALENIA CCGT (HTTP://WWW.FRIGERIODESIGN.IT/) ...................................... 60
FIGURE 3-2 ANSALDO V94.3 ......................................................................................... 65
FIGURE 3-3 SIDE VIEW OF THE GT AE V94.3 A .............................................................. 66
FIGURE 3-4 PLAIN BEARING WITH THRUST CAPABILITY...................................................... 66
FIGURE 3-5 INTERMEDIATE SHAFT ................................................................................. 67
FIGURE 3-6 HYDRAULIC MOTOR .................................................................................... 68
FIGURE 3-7 COMPRESSOR STATOR – A, B AND C ARE THE EXTRACTION POINT FOR THE
COOLING WATER. 1. HOUSING FOR THE BEARING, 2. BLADE CARRIER I, 3.BLADE RING,
4.COLLAR, 5. ECCENTRIC BOLT, 6. CENTRAL CASING, 7. BLADE CARRIER II ............... 70
9
FIGURE 3-8 DIFFUSER OF THE COMPRESSOR .................................................................. 71
FIGURE 3-9 SEALS OF THE COMPRESSOR ....................................................................... 72
FIGURE 3-10 IGV ......................................................................................................... 73
FIGURE 3-11 SIDE VIEW OF THE GT ............................................................................... 75
FIGURE 3-12 ROTOR COMPRESSOR BLADES .................................................................. 76
FIGURE 3-13 ANNULAR COMBUSTION CHAMBER ............................................................. 77
FIGURE 3-14 COMBUSTION CHAMBER ............................................................................ 78
FIGURE 3-15 PREMIXED FLAME ..................................................................................... 79
FIGURE 3-16 DIFFUSION FLAME ..................................................................................... 81
FIGURE 3-17 EMISSIONS WITH DIFFUSION AND PREMIX MODE.......................................... 82
FIGURE 3-18 SEALS ON THE TURBINE SHAFT ................................................................... 83
FIGURE 3-19 MOVING TURBINE BLADES AND THEIR COOLING METHOD ............................... 84
FIGURE 3-20 STATIONARY TURBINE BLADES .................................................................. 85
FIGURE 3-21 ANSALDO ST ............................................................................................ 88
FIGURE 3-22 STEAM PATHFLOW .................................................................................... 90
FIGURE 3-23 STATIONARY SEMI-RING ............................................................................ 91
FIGURE 3-24 ROTOR AND MOVING BLADES ..................................................................... 92
FIGURE 3-25 LAST BLADE OF THE LP TURBINE ................................................................ 93
FIGURE 3-26 HRSG ..................................................................................................... 95
FIGURE 3-27 LP HRSG SCHEME ................................................................................... 97
FIGURE 3-28 IP HRSG SCHEME .................................................................................... 97
FIGURE 3-29 HP HRSG SCHEME .................................................................................. 98
FIGURE 3-30 CONDENSATE TREATMENT SYSTEM ............................................................ 99
FIGURE 3-31 COOLING PROCESS ................................................................................. 100
FIGURE 3-32 TEMPERATURE PROFILE .......................................................................... 101
FIGURE 3-33 AIR CONDENSER SCHEME ........................................................................ 103
FIGURE 3-34 AIR CONDENSER .................................................................................... 104
FIGURE 4-1 MANUFACTURING AND EQUIPMENT CONDITION DEGRADATION PROCESS [22] .. 106
FIGURE 4-2 GE VS. EOH APPROACH[57] ..................................................................... 113
10
FIGURE 4-3 EFFECTS CAUSING AGING IN A GT [14] ....................................................... 115
FIGURE 4-4 DESIGN CRITERIA AND LIFE EXPENDITURE EFFECTS [14] ............................. 116
FIGURE 4-5 MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST [15] .................................................................. 117
FIGURE 4-6 AREAS OF TURBINE TARGETED DURING INSPECTION[25] .............................. 118
FIGURE 4-7 HGPI - KEY ELEMENTS [18] ....................................................................... 121
FIGURE 4-8 INFLUENCING FACTORS ON THE HGPI [18] ................................................. 122
FIGURE 4-9 HGPI: STARTS-BASED CONDITION[18]........................................................ 123
FIGURE 4-10 HGPI: HOURS-BASED CRITERION[18] ....................................................... 124
FIGURE 4-11 GT MO KEY ELEMENTS[18] ..................................................................... 135
FIGURE 4-12 STAGES OF DYE PENETRANT TESTING ..................................................... 138
FIGURE 4-13 EDDY CURRENT TESTING ......................................................................... 139
FIGURE 4-14 ULTRASONIC TESTING: A) NO DEFECTS, B)SMALL DEFECT, C) LARGE DEFECT
.......................................................................................................................... 140
FIGURE 4-15 MAGNETIC PARTICLE TESTING PHASES .................................................... 142
FIGURE 4-16 TYPICAL STARTUP CURVES[58] ............................................................... 143
FIGURE 4-17 MEASUREMENTS POINTS ON A MOTOR/PUMP ............................................. 151
FIGURE 4-18 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF GTF .................................................... 157
FIGURE 5-1 PRINCIPLE OF THE PHASES ARRAY INSPECTION OF DISK RIM ATTACHMENTS WITH
DOUBLE-PROBE (A) AND UT DATA (B)[59] .............................................................. 164
FIGURE 5-2 OIL LEAK BELOW THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT BETWEEN THE AIR INTAKE AND THE
GENERATOR CABIN ............................................................................................. 174
FIGURE 5-3 OIL LEAK ON THE JACKING GEAR CABIN ....................................................... 175
FIGURE 5-4 SEDIMENT AND EROSION ON IGV BLADE EDGE............................................. 175
FIGURE 5-5 W EAR DUE TO THRUST ROLLER .................................................................. 176
FIGURE 5-6 W EAR ON THE GUIDE RING ......................................................................... 176
FIGURE 5-7 W ORN POINT ON THE GUIDE RING ............................................................... 177
FIGURE 5-8 COUPLING AREA BETWEEN TURBINE BLADE CARRIER AND THE COMBUSTION
CHAMBER HOUSING .............................................................................................. 177
FIGURE 5-9 FLUID HAMMER ON THE HOLLOW ................................................................. 178
11
FIGURE 5-10 W ELDED LINE AS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION ................................................ 178
FIGURE 5-11 DETAIL OF FLUID HAMMER ON A SEALING RING ........................................... 179
FIGURE 5-12 SEALING RING OF THE FIRST STATIONARY STAGE ....................................... 179
FIGURE 5-13 AFTER SEALING RING REPLACEMENT ........................................................ 180
FIGURE 5-14 EFFECT OF FLUID HAMMER ON BLADE ROOTS ............................................. 180
FIGURE 5-15 FIRST STATIONARY STAGE BEFORE MAINTENANCE ..................................... 181
FIGURE 5-16 FIRST STATIONARY STAGE AFTER BEING REPLACED.................................... 181
FIGURE 5-17 CRYSTALLIZED OIL OUTSIDE THE TURBINE BEARING CASING ........................ 182
FIGURE 5-18 OILY TRACES ON THE INLET LUBRICANT TUBE OF THE GT BEARING .............. 182
FIGURE 5-19 SEALING RING ON THE TURBINE BEARING CASING ....................................... 183
FIGURE 5-20 TURBINE ROTOR BLADES BEFORE MAINTENANCE........................................ 183
FIGURE 5-21 NEW TURBINE ROTOR BLADES .................................................................. 184
FIGURE 5-22 CRACK LOCATIONS ON THE EXTERNAL HOUSING OF THE GT BEARING .......... 184
FIGURE 5-23 CRACKS ON THE BURNER EDGE ................................................................ 185
FIGURE 5-24 BURNERS/CERAMIC TILES DAMAGES ......................................................... 186
FIGURE 5-25 CRACK AND EROSION ON A CERAMIC TILE .................................................. 186
FIGURE 5-26 TURBINE OUTLET TEMPERATURE ............................................................. 188
FIGURE 5-27 TRIP DUE TO GAS DETECTION INSIDE THE GT HALL..................................... 190
FIGURE 5-28 EDDY CURRENT PROBE INSTALLATION[38] ............................................... 192
FIGURE 5-29 VIBRATIONS ON THE TURBINE SIDE ........................................................... 193
FIGURE 5-30 VIBRATIONS ON THE COMPRESSOR .......................................................... 194
FIGURE 5-31 T-S DIAGRAM IN CASE OF AMBIENT PRESSURE VARIATION (DECREASE OF
AMBIENT PRESSURE) ............................................................................................ 197
FIGURE 5-32 P-V DIAGRAM IN CASE OF AMBIENT PRESSURE VARIATION (DECREASE OF

AMBIENT PRESSURE) ............................................................................................ 198
FIGURE 5-33 P-V DIAGRAM IN CASE OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE VARIATION (INCREASE OF

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE) ...................................................................................... 199
FIGURE 5-34 T-S DIAGRAM IN CASE OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE VARIATION (INCREASE OF

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE) ...................................................................................... 200
12
FIGURE 5-35 AMBIENT TEMPERATURE POWER CORRECTION FACTOR CURVE[44]............ 201
FIGURE 5-36 Φ-K DIAGRAM FOR THREE TYPICAL AMBIENT TEMPERATURE VALUES ............. 208
FIGURE 5-37 Φ-Η DIAGRAM FOR THREE TYPICAL AMBIENT TEMPERATURE VALUES
(COMPRESSION RATIO =16) .................................................................................. 209
FIGURE 5-38 Φ-Ρ DIAGRAM FOR THREE TYPICAL AMBIENT TEMPERATURE VALUES ............. 211
FIGURE 5-39 AMBIENT TEMPERATURE TREND IN APRIL 27/2015 .................................... 213
FIGURE 5-40 RELATIVE HUMIDITY TREND ON APRIL 27/2015 ......................................... 213
FIGURE 5-41 AMBIENT TEMPERATURE TREND IN SEPTEMBER 2/2015 ............................. 214
FIGURE 5-42 RELATIVE HUMIDITY TREND ON SEPTEMBER 2/2015 .................................. 214
FIGURE 5-43 POWER OUTPUT-OVERALL EFFICIENCY OF THE GT PRE-MAINTENANCE
(27/APR/2015) AND POST-MAINTENANCE (02/SEP/2015) ...................................... 215
(27/APR/2015) AND POST-MAINTENANCE (02/SEP/2015) [CORRECTION IN
ACCORDANCE WITH [43]] ...................................................................................... 216

(27/APR/2015) AND POST-MAINTENANCE (02/SEP/2015) [THEORETICAL CORRECTION
IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER 5.5.3] .................................................................. 217
FIGURE 5-46 EFFICIENCY CORRECTION BY MEANS OF THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL

CORRECTION FACTORS........................................................................................ 219
FIGURE 5-47 ANNUAL COSTS OF A SINGLE MODULE IN CALENIA CCGT (380 MW) .......... 223
FIGURE 5-48 ANNUAL INCOMES/EXPENSES OF A SINGLE MODULE IN CALENIA CCGT (380
MW) .................................................................................................................. 224
FIGURE 5-49 DAILY POWER OUTPUT FREQUENCY .......................................................... 226
FIGURE 5-50 SPECIFIC SAVINGS AND ANNUAL SAVINGS DUE TO EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT
AFTER HGPI ....................................................................................................... 227
FIGURE 5-51 MECHANICAL DEVICE CONDITIONS DEPENDS ON OPERATING HOURS ............ 228
13
List of Tables
TABLE 2-1 THERMODYNAMICS COMPARISON OF GAS TURBINE, STEAM TURBINE AND CCGT
[11] ...................................................................................................................... 37
TABLE 2-2 FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD GENERATION CCGT CHARACTERISTICS [12]........... 41
TABLE 2-3 COMPARISON OF THE MAIN FEATURES OF A STEAM TURBINE FOR CCGT AND ONE
FOR A CONVENTIONAL STEAM PLANT [11] ................................................................. 48
TABLE 2-4 THE MAIN CCPPS IN ITALY ............................................................................ 54

TABLE 2-5 INFLUENCING FACTORS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE LCOE AND THE LCOE FOR
A CCPP [16] ........................................................................................................ 56
TABLE 2-6 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR LCOE EVALUATION [16] ............................. 57
TABLE 2-7 LCOE, EXTERNALITIES AND TOTAL COST OF ENERGY GENERATION FOR
DIFFERENT TYPES OF POWER PLANTS ...................................................................... 58
TABLE 3-1 GAS TURBINE PARAMETERS (ISO CONDITIONS) ............................................... 63

TABLE 3-2 ST CHARACTERISTICS (FULL CONDENSATION AND TAMB=15°C) ......................... 89
TABLE 3-3 HRSG CHARACTERISTICS ............................................................................. 96
TABLE 3-4 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED BY THE SYSTEM ......................................... 102
TABLE 4-1 NDT SCHEME (PT = DYE PENETRANT TEST, ET = EDDY CURRENT TEST, VT =
VISUAL TEST, O = OPTIONAL) .............................................................................. 132
TABLE 4-2 MAINTENANCE PLANE OF THE MAIN V94.3A4 GT COMPONENTS ..................... 133
TABLE 4-3 MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF A CCGT [SOURCE:
ANSALDO ENERGIA SPA] ...................................................................................... 149
TABLE 5-1 FINDINGS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS .......................................................... 174
TABLE 5-2 TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE ON K IN CASE OF DRY AIR [49] ............................... 206
TABLE 5-3 ANNUAL EXPENSES AND INCOMES OF THE CCGT (USING DATA OF 2015) ....... 222
14
Abbreviations
ACE 3T SOPS = Standard Operating Procedures
AEEG = Autorità per l’Energia Elettrica, il Gas e il Sistema Idrico (Regulatory Authority
for Electricity and Gas)
AEN = Ansaldo Energia
AFR = Air-Fuel Ratio
AGCM = Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Italian Antitrust Authority)
AU = Acquirente Unico (Single Buyer)
BOP = Balance of Plant
CEP = Condensate Extraction Pump
CET = Centrale Elettrica Termica (Thermal Power Plant)
CCGT = Combined Cycle Gas Turbine
CCPP = Combine Cycle Power Plant
CI = Combustion Inspection
CM = Condition Monitoring
CMMS = Computerized Maintenance Management System
CPM = Critical Path Method
15
CSP = Coordinatore alla sicurezza in fase di progettazione (Safety Coordinator during
the project design phase)
DCS = Distributed Control System
DGA = Dissolved Gas Analysis
Dlgs = Decreto Legislativo (Decree)
DLN = Dry Low NOx
DP = Differential Pressure
EGT = Exhaust Gas Temperature
EOH = Equivalent Operating Hours
ET = Eddy Current Testing
FEM = Finite Element Method
FM = Fracture Mechanics
FMECA = Failure Mode, Effects and Critically Analysis
FO = Forced Outages
FOD = Foreign Object Damage
FOH = Forced Outage Hours
FWP = Feedwater Pump
GE = General Electric
16
GSE = Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (Energy Service Operator)
GME = Gestore dei Mercati Energetici (Energy Market Operator)
GT = Gas Turbine
GTF = Garanzia Totale di Funzionamento (Total Quality Warranty)
HC = Hydrocarbons
HCF = High-Cycle Fatigue
HAZD = Hazard Identification
HAZOP = Hazard and Operability Study
HGPI = Hot Gas Path Inspection
HP = High Pressure
HRSG =Heat Recovery Steam Generator
IGV = Inlet Guide Vane
IOD = Internal Objects Damage
IP = Intermediate Pressure
IRAP = Imposta Regionale sulle Attività Produttive (Regional Tax on Productive

Activities)
IRES = Imposta sul Reddito delle Società (Corporate Income Tax)
KPI = Key Performance Indicator
17
LCF = Low-Cycle Fatigue
LCOE = Levelized Cost of Energy
LHV = Lower Heating Value
LP = Low Pressure
LTE = Lifetime Extension
LVDT = Linear Variable Displacement Transducer
LV = Low Voltage
MHD = Magneto-Hydrodynamic
MGP = Mercato del Giorno Prima (Previous Day Market)
MI = Minor Inspection
MO = Major Overhaul
MOV = Motorized Valve
MT = Magnetic Particle Testing
MTTR = Mean Time to Repair
MTBF = Mean Time Between Failure
MV = Medium Voltage
NDE = Non Destructive Examination
NDT = Non Destructive Test
18
NR = Net Return
ODL = Ordine di Lavoro (Job details and authorization)
O&M = Operating and Maintenance
OH = Operating Hours
PA = Phased Array
PCB = Polychlorinated Biphenyl
PCF = Plant Capacity Factor
PERT = Program Evaluation and Review Technique
PFM = Performance Focused Maintenance
PH = Period Hours
PP = Payback Period
PSC = Piano di sicurezza e di coordinamento (Safety Plan)
PT = Dye Penetrant Testing
PWR = Pressurized Water Reactor
RBI = Risk-Based Inspection
RCFA = Root Cause Failure Analysis
RH = Re-heated
ROE = Return on Equity
19
ROI = Return on Investment
RSE = Rotor Stress Evaluator
SFC = Static Frequency Converter
SH = Superheated
SI = Short Inspection
SOW = Statement of Work
SRC = Selective Catalyst Reduction
ST = Steam Turbine
TBC = Thermal Barrier Coating
TETC = Turbine Exit Temperature Corrected
TIT = Turbine Inlet Temperature
TOT = Turbine Outlet Temperature
TPM = Total Productive Maintenance
TSI = Turbine Supervisory Instrumentation
TSO = Transmission Service Operator
UH = Unavailable Hours
UT = Ultrasonic Testing
WBS = Work Breakdown Structure
20
ZSS = Zero Speed Switch
21
Chapter 1
1. Italian Electricity Market
1.1 Current Institutions and Electric System
The electricity market in Italy was launched by the Decree 79 of 1999 (Bersani Decree)
transposing the EU directive on “Common rules for the internal energy market”
(96/92/EC). Before this milestone, the whole electricity market for almost 40 years was
under the monopoly of a single state-owned company: Enel. This company controlled
the transmission, distribution networks and energy production, with the exception of a
few cities where there were local municipal electricity undertakings.
Nowadays the operators/institutions in the electricity market are:
 Terna
 GSE (Energy Service Operator or Gestore dei Servizi Energetici)
 GME (Energy Market Operator or Gestore dei Mercati Energetici)
 AU (Single Buyer or Acquirente Unico)
 AEEG (Regulatory Authority for Electricity and Gas or Autorità per l’Energia
Elettrica, il Gas e il Sistema Idrico)
 AGCM (Italian Antitrust Authority or Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del
Mercato)
Italian Electricity Market
Terna SpA is the transmission service operator (TSO). It is the owner of the majority of
the transmission grid operation lines, and holds the concession agreement to operate
that system. Terna’s main responsibilities concern [1]:
 Dispatching services
 Balancing services
 Congestion management
 Reserve services
 Expansion and maintenance of the transmission lines and the overall
transmission grid
GSE is a state-controlled company managing support schemes for renewable energy

sources throughout Italy. GME and Single buyer belong to it. Its main activities are:
 Buying electricity generated by renewable sources and selling it on the market

 Issuing Green Certificates and monitoring producers’ and importers’ compliance
with renewable obligation
 Certifying renewable sources generating plants
 Issuing the Guarantee of Origin certificate for renewable sources
 Managing the scheme that incentivizes electricity generation by photovoltaic
plants
 Certifying co-generation plants
The GME [1]:
 Organizes electricity exchange (including the day-ahead market, the intraday

market and the market for dispatching services) under the vigilance of the
Ministry of Economic Development.
23
 Regulates electricity exchange according to the principles of neutrality,

transparency and objectivity where bids for the purchase and sale power are
traded
AU purchases electricity on the market under the best possible terms and resells it to
distributors. In order to achieve these tasks it [2]:
 Draws up contracts, including multi-year contracts

 Participates in procedures for the allocation of transmission import capacity and
incentivized energy
 Procures electricity in the power exchange
AEEG is an independent body established to regulate and control the electricity and
gas sectors [3]. As the AEEG’s website summarizes, the Authority’s functions are:
 To set basic tariffs for the regulated sectors

 To establish guidelines for the production and distribution of services, as well as
the service standard and the refund mechanism in cases where standards are
not met
 To help the Government and Parliament with the improvement of the market
structure and with the implementation of EU directives
 To work with the AGCM
 Accounting and Administrative Unbundling
 To handle disputes
The Italian Antitrust Authority is a competition regulator that, according to antitrust law,
is responsible for detecting [4]:
 Agreements restricting competition

 Abuses of dominant position
24
 Merger operations involving the creation or strengthening of dominant positions

in ways that eliminate or substantially reduce competition on a lasting basis
GME Approves
Ministry for Industry
Market operating discipline
Formulates
observations
Verifies
AEEG
Terna
Grid code guidelines
Verifies
Grid code
Transmission and
dispatching regulation
Scheme for dispatching rules
Merit order criteria for

Guarantees merit order
renewable and CHP
plants Directives
Primary legislation
Figure 1-1 Coordination among main Institutions [2]
25
The Figure 1-1 is a summary of the previous lines.
1.2 Italian supply and demand
Figure 1-2 Load Curves for typical electricity grid [source: Vencorp]
The daily demand of electricity has a typical shape (see Figure 1-2) with one or more
peaks, depending on the season.
26
The base load power can be defined as “the minimum amount the grid has to have to
run society” and peaking power as the cushion against peaks both anticipated and
unanticipated.
A power plant supplying base load power must produce energy at a constant rate,
usually at a low cost relative to other production facilities available to the electrical
system. Examples of baseload plants are nuclear, coal-fired and hydroelectric plants.
They are typically in service except in cases of repairs or maintenance. The common
feature of this kind of power plant is the long start-up and shut-down time and
sometimes they cannot be stopped, unless we accept to lose energy because we
cannot conveniently store such a large amount of energy.
Figure 1-3 Daily consumption of electricity in Italy (17/06/2015)[53]
Peaking power plants generally run only when there is a high demand for electricity.
The most popular peaking power plant is the gas turbine burning natural gas. For
27
increased efficiency, a steam turbine is coupled by means of a Heat Recovery Steam

Generator (HRSG) in a combined cycle power plant (CCPP).
Thus, the importance of CCPP is evident and explains why conducting many studies
to improve the efficiency is still of great importance.
Terna published the daily consumption of electricity on the 16th June 2015 and it is
depicted in Figure 1-3, where the double-peak shape is shown.
Figure 1-4 Average Daily Consumption of Electricity and Electricity Price (March
2014) [54]
Terna provides a more detailed diagram depicting the average daily consumption in
one month with all the different energy sources, as well as the energy price (see Figure
1-4). The picture clarifies the trend indicating that energy prices, accordingly with the
28
supply and demand rule, are higher when the demand reaches peaks. It is worth noting
that the main contribution of solar energy occurs between 9 AM and 5 PM, while the
wind energy curve is flat only because this is an average based on a big sample (the
whole country); in other words, wind energy is more intermittent. Finally, Italy is not the
only country where thermal power plants provide the majority of the demanded energy
and Terna [5] has delivered a report with the Italian production of energy and this is the
result:
The gross energy

production in Italy in
2014 from CCPP has
been over 91,000 GWh
on a total energy
production from
thermal power plant of
roughly 175,000 GWh.
In 2014 it was
produced almost
280,000 GWh of
energy, while the
energy consumed was
around 291,000 GWh
[6].
Italy needs to import

Figure 1-5 Electric trade in billion kWh (2015)[54]
around 10% of its
electricity from abroad
and the Figure 1-5 shows the total exchange of electricity with neighboring countries.
29
The blue numbers indicate the electricity demand and the internal exchange in billion
kWh and the red numbers indicate the net external exchange of electricity during the
period of June 2015.
Italy is still importing energy from abroad and the Figure 1-5 reveals that Southern Italy
exports more than approximately 28% of its local produced power to Central Italy,
Greece and Malta.
The amount of demanded energy, the energy price and natural gas prices can explain
most of the decisions made inside a power plant, especially the maintenance
schedules. Figure 1-6 shows the purchase price trend of electricity in Italy in the last
year. The average purchase price in June 2015 was 48.64 €/MWh, while in June 2014
it was 47.02 €/MWh with an increment of 3.4%. This might seem like a small number,
but we must keep in mind the reduced price of the fuel as depicted in Figure 1-8.
Figure 1-6 Purchase Price Trend of electricity in Italy between June 2014-June 2015
[source: GME]
30
Figure 1-7 Energy Purchase price and its traded amount [source: GME]
In the last three years, there has been a reduction of approximately 12% in gas prices
and over 30% of reduction in the energy purchase price and simultaneously also the
traded energy has been decreasing since 2010 (see Figure 1-7) Thus, it is now evident
that the current situation is more convenient with respect to the beginning of 2015.
Indeed Figure 1-8 shows the gas price for small industrial consumers and not for big
consumers as power plants. Despite this, the data are significant, since it depicts a
reducing trend of the gas price, affecting not only small and medium industry (SMI).
The last update regarding gas prices for big industrial consumers was given by GME
and it considers the average retail price on the market (see Figure 1-9). Liquidity is the
ratio of traded volumes on stock market (“mercato del giorno prima”, MGP that is
“previous day market”) and the entire traded volume in Italy.
The other interesting parameter is energy consumption, which is depicted in Figure

1-10.
31
Figure 1-8 Electricity and Natural Gas price in Europe [55]
There is a typical seasonal increment which explains the requirements for a power plant
to operate in summer. There is also an increment of 0.4 % in June with respect to the
previous year. A deep inspection through GME data reveal a constant increment in
energy consumption in the current year with a peak of 1.3 % in April.
Summarizing, the fuel cost and the energy price are following two opposite trends: the
former has lowered and the latter has increased, according to the demand and supply
rule. This must be considered with respect to energy consumption, which is also rising.
These three factors are the most important ones for the managers of a CCPP.
32
450,000 29
400,000 28
Average Price [€/MWh]

350,000 27
Volume [MWh] 300,000 26
250,000 25
200,000 24
150,000 23
100,000 22
50,000 21
Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15
Volume [MWh] Average Price [€/MWh]
Figure 1-9 Average Price of natural gas in Italy [source: GME]
I will not stress any longer the trend of demand and supply, because this chapter has
just the scope to show the actual energy need and the importance of the thermal power
plants, in particular the CCPP, in an era where the renewable energy sources are
unable to satisfy the energy demand, especially in case of peak load. The energy
Figure 1-10 Energy Consumption in Italy [source: GME]
33
market also plays a key role (fuel and electricity price, electricity consumption), since
decisions about maintenance schedule depend on it as chapter 5 will demonstrate.
34
Chapter 2
2. Combined Cycle Power Plants
2.1 Introduction
The EPCengineer portal defines the Combined Cycle Power Plant as:
“An electric power generating technology which combines the power production of a
gas turbine and of a steam turbine is called Combine Cycle Power Plant” [7].
Actually, any combination of two or more thermodynamic cycles must be considered a

combined cycle, therefore, the one involving a gas and a steam turbine is only a
particular combined cycle, usually called Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT).
However, Chih [8] defines the combination of more than two thermodynamic cycles as
a cascade cycle, whereas the combined cycle consists of only two.
When two or more cycles with different working fluids are coupled in series, it is
normally called “Binary Vapor Cycles” [9] and the most desirable mating is a mercury-
steam binary cycles which takes advantage of the features of mercury in the high
temperature range and avoids its deleterious properties in the low temperature range,
where the water/steam is used. Nag [9] has listed the characteristics of the ideal
working fluid for vapor cycle and, since no working fluid meets them, water is often
coupled to another fluid.
Combined Cycle Power Plants
Based on this, combined cycle and binary cycle are the same, but the former includes
commonly the following four kinds of power plants:
 Gas turbine – Steam turbine plant

 MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) – Steam plant
 Thermionic – Steam plant
 Thermoelectric – Steam plant
In each of them, the former is called the topping cycle and the Rankine cycle involved
inside the steam turbine is the bottoming cycle, because the latter uses the waste heat
coming from the topping cycle.
To understand the reason why there is so much interest in combined-cycles, we must

take a look at the Carnot efficiency, which is the maximum efficiency of an ideal thermal
cycle:
𝑇𝐻 − 𝑇𝐶
𝜂𝑐 =
𝑇𝐻
Where:
𝑇𝐻 = Temperature of the heat supplied
𝑇𝐶 = Temperature of the environment
The difference between an ideal cycle and a real cycle is the presence of the losses
and, as Traupel [10] states there are two kinds of losses: energetic and exergetic1. The
former are related to the radiation and convection losses; on the other hand, the
exergetic losses are caused by irreversible processes in accordance with the second
1 Exergy is the work potential of a system in a specified environment and represents the maximum
amount of useful work that can be obtain as the system is brought to equilibrium with the environment
[8]
36
law of thermodynamics. Hence, the former are linked to the mechanical part of the
plant, while the latter to the fluid and to the thermodynamics.
Steam power plant

Gas Combined Cycle
Turbine With Without Power Plant
Reheat Reheat
Average temperature of
950-1000 640-700 550-630 950-1000
the heat supplied [K]
Average temperature of
500-550 320-350 320-350 320-350
the exhaust heat [K]
Carnot Efficiency [%] 42-47 45-54 37-50 63-68
Table 2-1 Thermodynamics Comparison of Gas Turbine, Steam Turbine and CCGT
[11]
In order to better visualize the losses, here is an example of a real steam turbine power
plant. In this case, the heat transfer takes place inside a boiler where the combustion
temperature is approximately 2000 K, but the maximum steam temperature is about
810 K; furthermore, the temperature at the exit of the turbine is quite higher than the
ambient temperature, which means another heat transfer, that is, losses.
37
As depicted by the Carnot efficiency, raising the maximum temperature and/or reducing
the temperature of the waste heat will improve the cycle efficiency. Unfortunately, this
cannot be accomplished if we focus on only one cycle. Hence the interest in the
combined cycle. The Table 2-1 shows the three most important parameters for a first
insight on the difference between Gas Turbine, Steam Turbine and CCTG.
There are many combinations of different cycles and working fluids, but the most
common combined cycle power plant is the CCGT for two reasons:
1 Steam and gas turbines are well known so that the development costs are low
2 Air is inexpensive medium that fits perfectly with the topping cycle, while water
is likewise inexpensive, available almost everywhere and suited for the
bottoming cycle.
The efficiency of a combined cycle power plant is:
𝑃𝐺𝑇 + 𝑃𝑆𝑇
𝜂𝐾 =
𝑄̇𝐺𝑇 + 𝑄̇𝑆𝑇
Where:
𝑃𝐺𝑇 = Power output of the Gas Turbine
𝑃𝑆𝑇 = Power output of the Steam Turbine
𝑄̇𝐺𝑇 = Rate of Heat supplied to the Gas Turbine
𝑄̇𝑆𝑇 = Rate of Heat supplied to a Steam Turbine. This value is zero when there is no
supplementary firing in boiler
Considering the efficiencies of the two cycles, we can rewrite 𝜂𝐾 as:
38
𝜂𝐺𝑇 𝑄̇𝐺𝑇 + 𝜂𝑆𝑇 (𝑄̇𝑆𝑇 + 𝑄̇𝐺𝑇 [1 − 𝜂𝐺𝑇 ])

𝜂𝐾 =
𝑄̇𝐺𝑇 + 𝑄̇𝑆𝑇
2.2 CCGT
The CCGT combines a

Brayton-Joule cycle in a
gas turbine with a
Rankine cycle, which is
the steam turbine cycle
(see Figure 2-1). The
former is the topping
cycle, whose exhaust
gas is used for heating
the water, in order to
create the required
conditions of pressure
and temperature of the
steam turbine. The heat
transfer takes place in
the HRSG.
The commercial
Figure 2-1 CCGT thermodynamic cycle
development of CCGT
has proceeded in
39
parallel with the GT development and we are at the launch point of the fourth
generation.
The first generation mainly employed conventional-fired boilers, therefore the exhaust
gas from the turbine served as combustion air in the boiler that used typically bare
tubes. Repowering of steam turbine plants started with the first generation and it is still
attractive.
The main differences between the first and the second generation are the finned tube
boilers without supplementary firing and the NOx emission control system that used
the steam for NOx control because this had the least impact on the overall efficiency.
Later it was necessary to apply the SCR (Selective Catalyst Reduction).
The third generation is defined by the GT being designed specifically for the CCGT,
that is, more modest pressure ratios, unlike the simple-cycle plant, whose efficiency is
increased when the pressure ratios is as high as admissible. Moreover, the maximum
temperature could be increased thanks to the use of new materials, coatings and a
cooling system for blades of the first stages of GT. The ST has also undergone new
development.
Table 2-2 summarizes the characteristics of the three generations of CCGT.
The “H” platform CCGTs are expected to achieve 60% thermal efficiency, but despite
the physical feasibility, we do not have yet the economical convenience.
40
First Generation Second Generation Third Generation
Gas Small Size 50-90 MW Capacity 70-250 MW Capacity

Turbine
Application Repowering & Heat Recovery Heat Recovery

Cogeneration Feedwater Heating Feedwater Heating CC in
from 1949 – 1968 CC from 1968 – 1999 the 1990s
Steam Non-reheat, Non-reheat, Two or Reheat, Three Pressure

Cycle Single or Two Three Pressure
pressure
Emission None GT Water and Steam DLN Combustion with

Control Injection2 plus SCR Natural Gas and Water /
Installed in the HRSG Steam Injection with Oil
Gas Path for NOx Fuels plus SCR Installed
Control in the HRSG
Fuel Distillate Natural gas/ Distillate Natural Gas/ Distillate Oil

Oil/Natural Gas Oil/ Low Btu Gas/ Oils / Low Btu Gas
Table 2-2 First, Second and Third generation CCGT characteristics [12]
2 Water/steam is injected in the combustion chamber
41
2.2.1 Gas Turbine
Figure 2-2 Ideal and Real Brayton cycle
The ideal Brayton cycle consists of the following four processes:
1. Isentropic compression 1-2;

2. Reversible isobaric heating 2-3;
3. Isentropic expansion 3-4;
4. Reversible isobaric cooling 4-1;
The cycle is depicted in the Figure 2-2. The real Brayton cycle is also drawn with the
dotted lines in the same figure.
42
The Brayton cycle can be open, which uses an internal combustion chamber, or closed,
using a heat exchanger. Furthermore, the gas turbines for industrial purpose are called
stationary and are classified in three groups:
 Industrial gas turbines derived from steam turbine technology;

 Industrial gas turbines derived originally from jet technology;
 The aero-derivative turbines, consisting of a jet engine followed by a power
turbine.
The ideal cycle efficiency is:
1
𝜂𝑖 = 1 − (𝑘−1)
𝑘
𝑟𝑝
Where:
𝑝
𝑟𝑝 is the pressure ratio, defined as 𝑟𝑝 = 𝑝2
1
𝑐𝑝
𝑘 is the specific heat ratio, defined as 𝑘 = 𝐶 , that is the ratio of specific heat at constant
𝑣
pressure to the specific heat at constant volume.
Thus, we can improve the efficiency by increasing the pressure ratio.
The modifications to improve the efficiency are listed below, but there are also other
ways:
 Increasing the turbine inlet temperature,

 Reheating (Figure 2-3),
43
 Intercooling (Figure 2-4),
Figure 2-3 Brayton Cycle with Reheat[56]
The turbine inlet temperature is the highest temperature in the cycle, but we cannot
increase it over a certain value due to metallurgical constraints.
Figure 2-4 Brayton Cycle with intercooling [56]
Another solution is the split-shaft gas turbine, which is typical on the aero-derivative
turbine.
44
Since the main irreversibilities occur within the compressor and the turbine, another
way to improve the overall efficiency is to increase the efficiency of each
turbomachinery. Intercooling reduces the compression work and reheating can be
implemented on the turbine.
2.2.2 Steam turbine
A basic Rankine Cycle (see Figure 2-5) is composed of the following four processes:
1. Isentropic compression
2. Reversible isobaric heating
3. Isentropic expansion
4. Reversible isobaric heat removing
Figure 2-5 Ideal Rankine Cycle [56]
45
Water enters the pump at a state 1 as a low pressure saturated liquid to avoid the
cavitation problem and at state 2 becomes a high pressure compressed liquid. The
heat addition usually occurs in three phases taking place inside the boiler:
 Economizer
 Evaporator
 Superheater
In the Economizer, the compressed liquid receives the heat required to reach the state
of saturated liquid. From here, evaporation takes place in the Evaporator, where the
fluid absorbs the latent heat of vaporization at that pressure. The temperature of the
saturated vapor keeps rising inside the Superheater, where the working fluid reaches
state 3. Now, it is ready to expand in turbine and enter state 4, where the exhaust
steam, which already contains a small amount of liquid, enters the condenser that will
bring the moisture again to the state 1.
The efficiency of the Rankine cycle is:
ℎ4 − ℎ1 𝑄41
𝜂𝑅𝑎 = 1 − = 1−
ℎ3 − ℎ2 𝑄23
The efficiency is sometimes expressed in an alternative way as Heat Rate:
𝑄23 1 𝑘𝐽
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = =
𝑊𝑇 − 𝑊𝑝 𝜂 𝑘𝑊𝑠
The most common fuels used in a ST are fossil (coal, oil, natural gas) and fissile
(uranium, thorium); however, there is no need of them when the steam turbine is
coupled with a gas turbine in a CCPP.
Nag [9] expresses the capacity of a steam plant in terms of steam rate or specific steam
consumption, defined as the rate of steam flow required to produce unit shaft output:
46
1 𝑘𝑔
𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑘𝑊𝑠
Fluid friction, throttling and mixing are the causes of internal irreversibility. Since the
expansion and compression processes are rapid and flow rates in the steam turbine
and in the pump are large, the assumption of adiabatic flow in them can be still
considered valid. The processes are not reversible due to friction that increases the
entropy of the fluid. This lowers the output work from the turbine and increases the
compressor work of the pump.
Moreover, the fluid must leave the pump with higher pressure than at the inlet of the
turbine because of the pressure drops occurring in the heat exchangers, feedwater
heaters, heaters, pipes, valves, etc.
The temperature differences between the combustion gases and the working fluid on
the source side, and between the condensing working fluid and the condenser cooling
water on the sink side represent the external irreversibility. The higher these differences
are, the higher the irreversibility is.
Superheating is desirable except when a pressurized water reactor (PWR) is adopted

because the temperature differences are almost constant. The convenience of
superheating lies on the increasing of the mean temperature of heat addition and, thus,
the cycle efficiency. Moreover, the expansion line shifts to the right, as a result of which
the performance of the turbine improves thanks to the higher quality of the steam at the
turbine exhaust.
47
CCGT Conventional Steam plant
Live steam pressure3 [bar] 30-80 140-250
Live steam temperature [°C] 450-520 520-540
Reheat No Yes
Number of bleed points 0-1 6-8
Specific exhaust steam flow [kg/MWs] 1 0.6-0.7
Table 2-3 Comparison of the main features of a steam turbine for CCGT and one for a
conventional steam plant [11]
The turbine inlet pressure is an adjustable parameter. As the maximum temperature is

limited for metallurgical reasons, the maximum moisture content is constrained
because water particles strike the blades of the last stages of the turbine, eroding the
blade surface.
Therefore, the turbine inlet pressure is given when the maximum temperature and the
allowable quality of steam are fixed. If we want to avoid this constraint, we may reheat
the steam and carry it to the low-pressure turbine.
For the CCGT use, the steam turbine must have the two following characteristics [11]:
3 Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler [53]
48
 High efficiency
 Short start-up time
Short start-up time is an important feature because the CCGT undergoes daily start-up
and shutdowns. Table 2-3 lists the main features of a steam turbine for a CCGT and a
steam turbine for a conventional steam plant.
2.2.3 Steam Generator
The steam generator is a waste heat boiler that links the GT to the ST, recovering the
waste heat from the exhaust gas coming from the GT to produce the steam for the ST.
We refer to the Steam Generator as HRSG.
The aim is to optimize the heat transfer by reducing the energy and exergy losses, but
there three limiting factors:
 The physical properties of the working fluids

 The size of the boilers (they have a limited size)
 The low temperature corrosion, caused mainly by sulfur
Due to the physical properties of the water and, especially, because the water
evaporates at constant temperature, the boiler can never be an “ideal heat transfer”,
even if we could have built an infinitely large boiler.
There are three main types of steam generators:
 Waste heat boiler without supplementary firing

 Waste heat boiler with supplementary firing
49
 Waste heat boiler with maximum supplementary firing
The boiler without supplementary firing is the most common heat generator among the
CCGTs. Furthermore, the circulation can be forced or natural, but the former is
generally preferred. Kehlhofer [11] listed four optimum conditions:
 The rate of waste heat utilization must be high

 Pressure losses on the flue gas side must be low in order to prevent losses in
power output and efficiency of the GT
 Prevention of the low temperature corrosion
 Pressure gradient must be large during the start-up
The HRSGs can be classified based on the type of circulation:
 Forced; the typical applications are the supercritical HRSG and they do not
require the drums
 Natural; the most common for the CCGT where the circulation is assured thanks
to the different densities of the fluid and because the tubes are vertical
 Aided; the pump guarantees the circulation, especially when the tubes are
horizontally placed
The HRSG are often equipped with a deaerator, which removes the gas (mainly
air/oxygen), by means of the steam.
50
2.2.4 Generators
The generators employed in a CCGT can be 2-pole or 4-pole accordingly with the
speed and the power output. The cooling mean is usually air or hydrogen. The air-
cooled generators have closed or open-circuit cooling system.
2.2.5 Other equipment
Here is only a list of other components:
 Condenser
 Cooling system
 Feedwater tank / Deaerator
 Feed pumps
 Condensate pumps
 Piping and fittings
 Condenser ejector system
 Water treatment plant
 Compressed air supply
 Flue gas bypass
 Steam turbine bypass
51
2.2.6 Operating parameters
The factors that influence each turbomachinery will also affect the entire plant. The
operating parameters for a CCGT are [13]:
 Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT)

 Compressor pressure ratio
 Pinch point
 Ambient Temperature
 Pressure levels
 Humidity
The limit of the TIT is dependent on the maximum temperature tolerance of the first
stage blades.
2.2.7 State-of-the-art
The CCGT plants are widespread across the world and Industcards [14] has listed
approximately 1.650 CCGT plants worldwide, but the numbers may need to be
updated.
Terna [15] has reported the amount of CCPP in Italy within 31/Dec/2014 and it has
divided them in two categories:
 Plants producing only electricity

 Plants producing heat and electricity
52
The former includes 70 power plants and the installed power is roughly 25,000 MW,
whereas the latter contains 110 plants with an installed power of 16,000 MW (this
number rises to 160 when we also consider the self-production and the installed power
reaches 17,000 MW).
The majority of the second group has a capacity under 25 MW.

Table 2-4 gathers some of the most important and biggest power plants operating in
Italy.
Power Plant Power [MW] Province Company

Cassano d'adda 1000 MI A2A
Mincio 250 VR A2A
Gissi 840 CH Abruzzoenergia
Falconara Marittima 286 AN Api Energia
Sparanise 760 CE Calenia Energia
Scandale 814 KR E.ON
Ostiglia 1482 MN E.ON
Tavazzano 1740 LO E.ON
Chivasso 1179 TO Edipower
Sermide 1154 MN Edipower
Turbigo 850 MI Edipower
Piacenza 855 PC Edipower
Altomonte 760 CS Edison
Bussi sul Tirino 130 PE Edison
Simeri Crichi 860 CZ Edison
Sarmato 145 PC Edison
Trecasali - San Quirico 135 PR Edison
Torviscosa 785 UD Edison
Sesto san Giovanni 110 MI Edison
Jesi 125 AN Edison
Verzuolo 120 CN Edison
Candela 380 FG Edison
Porcari 100 LU Edison
Terni 100 TR Edison
Marghera Levante 740 VE Edison
Rosignano 510 LI Electrabel Suez
53
Trieste – Servola 149 TS ElettraGLT

Rossano 1738 CS Enel
Castel San Giovanni -La casella 1524 PC Enel
Teodora – Ravenna 750 RA Enel
Montalto di Castro - Alessandro
3600 VT Enel
Volta
Spezia - Eugenio Montale 700 SP Enel
Priolo – Archimede 750 SR Enel
Termini Imerese 740 PA Enel
Piegaro – Pietrafitta 510 PG Enel
Trino - Galileo Ferraris 700 VC Enel
Ravenna 785 RA Enipower
Ferrera Erbognone 780 PV Enipower
Mantova 780 MN Enipower
Brindisi 1170 BR Enipower
Ferrara 124 FE FWI
Voghera 380 PV GDF Suez
Moncalieri 800 TO IREN
Piemonte
Leini 272 TO
Energia
Teverola 400 CE Repower
Rizziconi 760 RC RizziconiEnergia
Termoli 770 CB Sorgenia
Modugno 800 BA Sorgenia
Bertonico-Turano Lodigiano 800 LO Sorgenia
Aprilia 800 LT Sorgenia
Celano 230 AQ Termica Celano
Napoli 400 NA Tirreno Power
Table 2-4 The main CCPPs in Italy
The number of thermal power plants installed in Italy is 4,751, but if we also include the
geothermal power plants, the number reaches 4,878 with a total installed power of
72,704 MW. Although the number of CCPP is 230 (self-production power plants
included), which is less than 5% of the total number of thermal power plant, CCPP
supply more than half of the entire power (around 44,000 MW).
54
Thermal power plants cover the main energy demand in Italy and CCPP are the most
common and used thermal power plants.
2.2.8 Economic Aspects
RSE SpA [16] has published a book about the energy cost (for producers and buyers),
investigating the reasons of the high energy price. In particular, RSE has compared all
the different kinds of energy production by means of the Levelized Cost of Electricity
(LCOE), that is the required selling price (considering the energy produced during the
whole life of a power plant) in order to cover all the expenses for the construction and
the operating costs (overnight costs and tax included) and to accomplish a certain profit
(Return on equity - ROE).
Furthermore, the analysis takes also into account the externalities, especially the costs
related to the pollution.
Table 2-5 contains the LCOE evaluated for a CCPP.
55
800 MW CCPP
Efficiency [%] 56
Investment Costs [k€/MW] 650
Total annual O&M costs [% of investment costs] 3.50
Fixed O&M costs [k€/MW-year] 10.5
Variable O&M costs [€/MWh] 3.15
Fuel costs [€/MWh] 29
Service factor [%] 35
Construction duration [years] 3
Service Life [years] 20
LCOE [€/MWh] 78
Table 2-5 Influencing factors for the evaluation of the LCOE and the LCOE for a
CCPP [16]
Economic considerations must be taken for LCOE evaluation and they are summarized
in Table 2-6
56
Equity capital [%] 25
ROE [%] 12
Debt duration [years] 15
Interest rate [%] 7
IRES [%] 27.5
IRAP [%] 3.9
Depreciation [%] 9
Inflation [%] 2
Table 2-6 Economic Considerations for LCOE evaluation [16]
The power plant used for this analysis has features very similar to the Calenia one: 2
GTs and roughly 800 MW of nominal power. Accordingly with this study, the
approximation is ±10%. It is worth comparing the CCPP LCOE with the generation
costs for different power plants, including the externalities (see
Table 2-7)
The table highlights the convenience of CCGT, since it has a total cost lower than the
other power plants. Hydroelectric power plants can be more convenient, but they do
57
not have the features a CCGT has. This result explains why CCGT are the most
common power plants.
LCOE Externalities Total cost

[€/MWh] [€/MWh] [€/MWh]
Sub-critical and Super-critical

53 – 65 50 – 70 103 - 135
Coal Power Plant
Biomass and Biogas 255 – 276 30 – 65 159 – 341
Hydroelectric Power Plant 60 – 380 Negligible 60 -380
Waste – to – energy plant 47 – 118 N. A. -
Photovoltaic 150 – 329 2 152 – 331
Geothermal power plant 51 -144 N. A. -
Nuclear Power Plant 66 – 72 N.A. -
CCGT 70 – 86 20 90 - 106
Table 2-7 LCOE, Externalities and Total Cost of energy generation for different types
of power plants
58
2.3 Summary
The CCGTs provide flexibility with features that include [12]:
1. High Thermal Efficiency – CCGT can achieve a thermal efficiency of around

60% in contrast to a single cycle steam power plant whose efficiency is around
35-42% [17]
2. Low Installed Cost and Short Installation Cycle – the equipment is pre-
engineered and factory-packaged in order to minimize the installation cost and
time
3. Fuel Flexibility – the typical fuels are natural gas, distillate oil fuels , ash-bearing
crude oil, residual oil fuels and coal-derived gas
4. Flexible Duty Cycle – the CCGT is designed to operate for baseload and mid-
range duty with daily startup
5. High Reliability/Availability – The reliability results from the design development
and the quality manufacturing programs; the availability is the result of sound
operation and maintenance practices
6. Low Operation and Maintenance Costs – The design allows inspections to keep
the state of the plant under control
7. High Efficiency in Small Capacity Increments
The CCGT is the optimum choice for high power output, while the Diesel engine can
give the best performance in a range of low power (<80 MW).
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Chapter 3
3. Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-1 Calenia CCGT (http://www.frigeriodesign.it/)
The Calenia Power Plant (see Figure 3-1) is located in Sparanise (CE). It was built by
Ansaldo Energia for Calenia Energia SpA (85% Axpo Group, 15% Hera) and it was
inaugurated in 2007.
The power output is 760 MW produced by means of a CCGT. The CCGT is a multishaft
project, since the GT and ST have different shafts, thus, different generators.
The main components of the plant are:

Calenia Power Plant
2x Gas Turbines with the auxiliary systems and accessories
2x Steam Turbines with the auxiliary systems
2x Air-cooled Generators coupled with the two GT and the auxiliary systems
2x Air-cooled Generators coupled with the two ST and the auxiliary systems
2x HRSG with the auxiliary systems
The rest of the balance of plant (BOP) consist of:
1. Air condenser
2. Auxiliary boiler
3. Natural gas system
4. Chemicals injection systems
5. Steam system
6. Condensate system
7. Wastes system
8. Production and distribution of the demineralized water system
9. Sampling system
10. Water system for civil needs
11. Cooling water system
12. Instrumentation and control
13. Nitrogen system
14. Fire-fighting system
15. Smoke analysis system
16. Wastewater treatment system
17. Main Transformers
18. Light enclosure
19. MV-LV distribution
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20. Batteries and inverters

21. Electrical protections
On the plant there are two units operating separately so that the continuity of production
is guaranteed even in case one of them is undergoing maintenance.
3.1 Gas Turbine
The Table 3-1 summarizes the main parameters of the Gas Turbine.
The main components of a GT are:
 Axial Air Compressor

 Annular Combustion Chamber
 Gas Turbine
GT model Ansaldo V94.3 A2
GT power output [MW] 260
Frequency [Hz] 50
Efficiency [%] 38.2
Exhaust gas temperature [°C] 584
Mass flow rate of exhaust gas [kg/s] 644
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Calenia Power Plant
Fuel Natural Gas
Lower Heating Value (LHV) [kJ/kg] 48,803
Mass Flow Rate [t/h] 63.8
Turbine Inlet Temperature [°C] 1225
Outlet Pressure [bar] 12.9
Power absorbed by Compressor [MW] 200
Power from Turbine [MW] 460
Table 3-1 Gas turbine parameters (ISO conditions4)
4 Tamb=15°C, p=1013.2 mbar, relative humidity=60%,
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The GT name stands for:
V 9 4 3 A
Rotational
speed Compression
[Hz]: ratio:
Annular
Combustion machine Compressor
9 = 50 combustion
(Verbrennungskraftsmaschine) size  2=
chamber
10
8 = 60
 3 =16
6 = 90
The GT is showed in Figure 3-2
The entire turbomachinery is assembled in the factory so that the installation will be
faster. There are two plain bearings: one placed in B and one in D (see Figure 3-3).
The former bears axial and radial load (see Figure 3-4) and both are covered by white
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-2 Ansaldo V94.3
metal, also known as Babbitt metal. The lubricant is supplied from the bottom and it is
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-3 Side view of the GT AE V94.3 A
delivered with high pressure

during the start, unlike during
the operating phase, when the
turning of the shaft create the
needed pressure of the oil.
The temperature of the
bearing is measured by
means of a thermocouple
near the bottom part, because
the load is maximum there.
Figure 3-4 Plain bearing with thrust capability
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-5 Intermediate Shaft
The supports are placed in B and C; B is also the housing of the first bearing. The
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Figure 3-6 Hydraulic Motor

machine can be physically divided in three parts. The first part includes the first 10
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Calenia Power Plant
stages of the compressor and the first two spillages; the second part contains the
remaining stages and it is the support for the burners. The last part incorporates the
combustion chamber and the turbine.
The auxiliary systems (filters, lubricant system, etc.) are located between the alternator
and the GT, in order to optimize the use of the space.
There is an intermediate shaft that links the turbomachinery with the alternator and it
has some slots for the speed measurement (see Figure 3-5).
Another important device is the hydraulic motor, also called “viradore” or jacking gear,
which keeps the shaft turning at a speed of 120 rpm for 24 hours after the
turbomachinery has been stopped, in order to have a uniform cooling, avoiding the
thermal distortions. In case of emergency, it can be run manually (see Figure 3-6).
3.2 Axial Compressor
The GT is a single-shaft turbine; therefore, compressor and turbine are on the same
shaft.
The compressor blades convert work into mechanical energy inside the working fluid,
whereas the turbine blades convert the energy of the fluid into work.
The work is required for running the compressor and the remaining part will be sent to
the generator through the intermediate shaft.
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The shaft is hollow for the following reasons:
Figure 3-7 Compressor Stator – A, B and C are the extraction point for the cooling
water. 1. Housing for the bearing, 2. Blade Carrier I, 3.Blade Ring, 4.Collar, 5. Eccentric
bolt, 6. Central Casing, 7. Blade Carrier II
 Faster acceleration and deceleration

 Faster heating (in starting phase) and cooling (e.g. for the maintenance or
inspections)
 Uniform temperature
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Figure 3-8 Diffuser of the compressor
 Delivery of the cooling compressed air to the turbine
The axial compressor has 15 stages with the controlled diffusion airfoil system that
optimizes the airflow.
All the blades of the rotor can be removed without dismantling the rotor. The blades on
the stator (called stationary blades) can be also removed but only after the rotor has
been lifted enough for this operation, since they are assembled on turning rings that
can be rotated up to 180°.
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Figure 3-9 Seals of the compressor
The rotor cooling is made with the compressed air extracted from the precise spots
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(see Figure 3-7) on the compressor. The compressed air is delivered through the
hollowed-rotor from the compressor side to the turbine. Only the first stage of the
Figure 3-10 IGV
turbine is cooled by means of the air coming from the last stage of the compressor (see
Figure 3-8).
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Calenia Power Plant
Furthermore, on the compressor housing, there is an appropriate number of spillages

of air, whose blow off valves are open during the start and during the low-speed
conditions, in order to reduce the instability and the compressor surge. The extracted
air is also used for the cooling of the turbine stator and for the sealing, especially in a
very narrow space in the presence of a hot gas. The seals on the shaft must guarantee
the protection from the leakage of the air between the stages, because they have
different pressures. The seals are of labyrinth type without contact, to reduce the
undesirable friction (see Figure 3-9).
The compressor surge is controlled by the IGV (Inlet Guide Vane) installed ahead of
the first stage rotor (see Figure 3-10). The IGV is used to control the exhaust gas
temperature, because it can reduce the mass flow of air, but the main purpose of the
IGV is to keep the TIT constant, but this temperature is unknown, since we cannot
measure it and the system evaluates it by using the measurement of the exhaust gas
temperature. The TIT is limited by the strength of the material of the turbine blades.
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-11 Side view of the GT

1.Intermediate Shaft 2.Hydraulic motor 3. Inlet duct 4. Housing of the compressor Bearing 5. Bearing 6. IGV 7. IGV adjustment
8. Compressor mobile blading 9. Compressor Fixed Blading 10. Blade Carrier I 11. Stator Support II 12. Rotor 13. Outlet diffuser
14. Combustor 15. External Housing II 16. Combustion Chamber 17. External Housing III 18. Turbine Stator Carrier Blades 19.
Turbine stationary blades 20. Turbine rotor blades 21. Turbine bearing 22. Exhaust line
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Figure 3-12 Rotor Compressor Blades
The actuator (5) makes the adjusting ring (2) rotate by means of a pushrod (4),
changing the positioning of IGV.
The start of the compressor surge causes vibrations in the blades and of the rotor, as
well as reduced heat transfer (since the fluid streamlines is not anymore in contact with
the blades, which is a serious problem). To cope with this, we let the air bypass the
compressor, or part of it, and flow to the diffuser. Figure 3-11 shows an overall side
view of the GT and it is helpful in pointing out the details already mentioned so far.
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Calenia Power Plant
The rotor is divided into three parts that are mounted on a rod.
The front moving blades are locked by locking washers so that they are easier to
remove in case of refurbishment; the rear moving blades are locked by caulking (see
Figure 3-12)
3.3 Combustion Chamber
Figure 3-13 Annular Combustion Chamber
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Calenia Power Plant
The GT has an annular combustion (Figure 3-13) chamber with 24 burners, designed
to work with different kinds of fuel. The combustion chamber is covered by ceramic-
Figure 3-14 Combustion Chamber
metal tiles, so that the reduction of the wall cooling air requirements is achieved. The
metal tiles can be clearly seen on the side view in Figure 3-14.
The combustion chamber has a toroidal shape with two half shells carrying the tiles.
The tiles are cooled by letting compressed air flow inside the combustion chamber,
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Calenia Power Plant
giving two main advantages: the air creates an insulating layer, in order to protect the
tiles from the high temperatures improving the quality of the combustion, and reducing
the NOx.
The air coming from the compressor enters the annular chamber through the diagonal
swirlers causing vortices that enhance the mixing with the fuel. The hot gas outlet is
designed to reduce the pressure drop.
AEN suggests the use of natural gas because it has the best efficiency. Moreover, 1
Figure 3-15 Premixed Flame
hour fueled with gas oil is equal to 1.5 EOH (equivalent operating hours).
The main issue of the combustion is the emission, especially NOx, CO and HC. The
nitrogen oxides are mainly NO, but they can easily turn into NO2. Since the temperature
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Calenia Power Plant
is among the main factors in the NOx production (over 1600°C, the generation speed
increases), we must reduce the combustion temperature and this can be achieved by
means of injection of water or steam. However, that reduces the efficiency and
increases the consumption of water, which must be demineralized again. The burners
with the premixed mode (Figure 3-16), also called DLN (Dry Low NOx) can reduce the
amount of NOx because in the area close to the injectors the AFR (Air-Fuel Ratio) is
low. Lately, Ansaldo has upgraded the combustion system with a new-patented system
called VeLoNOxTM. This system is capable of achieving less than 15 ppm NOx
emissions on a wide load range, according with the new specific pollutant limitations in
EU. The main features of the new system are:
 Partially premixed pilot concept

 Diagonal swirlers
 New injection nozzle pattern
The advantages of this innovative system are:
 Lower environmental impact (NOx emissions reduced down to 15 ppm)

 Higher combined cycle efficiency at part load
 Retrofitability on the current fleet
 No needs for control system modifications
Unfortunately, this results in higher levels of CO and HC and, in order to cope with this,
a post-combustion is needed, but at a lower temperature. The premixed mode is
feasible only when the flame is well-developed and this can be evaluated from the
Turbine outlet temperature, which must be higher than 470°C. A lower value does not
allow the complete post-combustion. In many cases, the premixed flame is allowed
when the load is over 50% the nominal load.
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Calenia Power Plant
Below this value, only the diffusion mode (Figure 3-16) is allowed by the control system.
Figure 3-16 Diffusion flame
Figure 3-17 depicts the correct use of the premix and diffusion mode in view of reducing
the emissions with different load conditions.
Carbon monoxide and HC are the product of the incomplete combustion, therefore,
whenever there is a lack of air, or less time for the reaction, they will be present. The
CO emission is normally very low on a CCGT since it works with a high AFR. The
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Calenia Power Plant
presence of CO denotes a malfunctioning caused by: burners, start phase, imperfect

distribution of the fuel and/or the air, etc.
Figure 3-17 Emissions with Diffusion and Premix Mode
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Figure 3-18 Seals on the turbine shaft
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Calenia Power Plant
3.4 Axial Turbine
Figure 3-19 Moving turbine blades and their cooling

method
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-20 Stationary Turbine Blades
The seals reduce the leakage of gas, oil or air. An example is given by the Figure 3-18.
The cooling air passes through the bores (18) and is used for sealing. In fact, the air
closes the small space between the stationary blade and the shaft, as well as the space
between the previous moving blade and the following stationary blade.
Moreover, the cooling air protects the rotor surface from the hot gas and fixes the rear
bearing.
The moving turbine blades have an airfoil, an inner shroud on the base and a blade
root (see Figure 3-19). The inner shroud has the role of reducing the contact between
the hot gas and the blade root.
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-19 also shows the cooling system, which is different on each stage, since the
hottest gas touches the first stage and the last one is in contact with the coldest gas. In
fact, the blades of the first two stages are cooled by film cooling method; the air enters
the blade from the cooling air inlet (4) and exits along the blade and from its top part,
where the air act as a seal. The blade root ends with a particular shape (pine shape)
for the assembling. This shape ensures the blade in that place.
The stationary turbine blades have a similar cooling system (see Figure 3-20): the first
two stages experience the film cooling method, as well as the internal cooling. The
cooling via convection is the only method for the 3rd and 4th stages
3.5 Design for Maintenance
There are several features designed to facilitate on-site maintenance. Here is the list
[18]:
 All casings, shells and frames are split on machine horizontal centerline so that
upper halves may be lifted individually for access to internal parts
 With upper-half compressor casing removed, all stator vanes can be slid
circumferentially out of the casings for inspection or replacement without
removing the rotor
 With the upper-half of the turbine shell lifted, each half of the first stage nozzle
assembly can be removed for inspection, repair or replacement without
removing the rotor
 All bearing housings and liners are split on the horizontal centerline so that they
may be inspected and replaced, when necessary. The lower half of the bearing
liner can be removed without removing the rotor
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Calenia Power Plant
 All seals and shaft packings are separated from the main bearing housings and
casings structures and may be readily removed and replaced
 All major accessories, including filters and coolers, are separate assemblies that
are readily accessible for inspection or maintenance. They may be also
individually replaced as necessary
Additionally, the gas-path borescope inspection is feasible due to some spots on the
outer casing.
3.6 Steam Turbine
The ST is a tandem compound, thus, there are two sections: one for the high pressure
(HP) and one for the intermediate pressure (IP) and low pressure (LP). Figure 3-21 is
the section view of the ST and the different pressure sections can be pinpointed: the
first on the left is the HP section, the second is the IP and the last on the right is the LP.
The turbine is of reaction type, so the potential energy of the vapor is converted into
kinetic energy partially in the static nozzles and the rest in the rotor blades.
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Calenia Power Plant
The turbine is equipped with a single shaft composed of two sections (HP and IP/LP).
The HP turbine is single axial flow, which simply means the steam flows in one direction
parallel to the axis of the turbine rotor. Steam enters the forward end of the turbine and
exhausts through the after end of the turbine [19]. The HP turbine has 28 stages.
Figure 3-21 Ansaldo ST
The steam turbines are often divided in two types: condensing and noncondensing. In
the device of the first type, the ST exhausts directly to condensers that maintain
vacuum conditions at the discharge of the turbine [20]
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Calenia Power Plant
ST model Ansaldo RH – TCSF 43
GT power output [MW] 136
Frequency [Hz] 50
Inlet Pressure [bar] 115
Re-Inlet Pressure [bar] 29
SH Vapor mass flow rate [kg/s] 77.4
Inlet and Re-Inlet Temperature [°C] 538
RH Vapor mass flow rate [kg/s] 88.6
LP mass flow rate [kg/s] 9
LP Vapor Pressure [bar] 6.5
LP Vapor Temperature [°C] 260
Outlet Condenser Pressure [bar] 0.06
Mass flow rate at outlet condenser [kg/s] 98.96
Table 3-2 ST characteristics (full condensation and Tamb=15°C)
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Calenia Power Plant
The vacuum conditions in the condenser are maintained by a steam air ejector, which
is used to remove non-condensable gases, such as air, hydrogen and corrosion
byproduct, from the condenser. The ST employed by Calenia is of this type.
Figure 3-22 Steam pathflow
In order to increase the power generation efficiency, steam reheat is used. The steam
is returned to the HSGR and reheated to approximately its original temperature before
feeding back to the IP turbine (see Figure 3-22).
The steam passes through two valves before reaching the HP turbine; the first is a stop
valve and the second one is a regulating valve. For safety reasons, all the valves work
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Calenia Power Plant
accordingly with the principle: oil-open/spring-shut. The steam enters the sections
located between the HP and the IP turbine and flows to the exhaust section where the
Figure 3-23 Stationary Semi-ring
steam heads the HRSG. Here, the steam is mixed with the superheated steam
produced inside the IP zone of the HRSG and, after the reheating, the steam is ready
to expand in the IP turbine first and then in the LP turbine.
Moreover, there are three by-pass stations:
 HP/RH cold
 RH hot/condenser
 LP/condenser
They are employed during the out-of-service, outages and transient states.
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Calenia Power Plant
Each station has a pneumatic valve for pressure reducing and desuperheating, a valve
for controlling the desuperheating water, a motorized valve (MOV) and a non-return
valve on the desuperheating water pipe.
The Rotor Stress

Evaluator (RSE) is
implemented to aim the
operators, and its role
is to determine the
acceleration in order to
keep the thermal
stresses under a
certain level during the
starts or fast load
variations.
The stationary rings are

showed in Figure 3-23.
The external semi-
Figure 3-24 Rotor and moving blades rings are fixed inside
the turbine casing and
they are welded with
the blade, but the last stages of LP are made by casting due to the size of the blades.
The rotor of the HP turbine is linked via a flange with the IP/LP rotor and the flange has
holes for the balancing. The rotor has also equilibrium holes for the same reason (see
Figure 3-24). The moving blades are made of stainless steel to prevent the corrosion
and erosion. They have a typical pine-shaped anchor, but the blades of the last stage
have a “finger” anchorage. Furthermore, the blades are linked together by means of
tapes, which are put on top of the blades.
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The blades of the last stage of

the LP section (see Figure
3-25) must be made of special
material with high mechanical
strength, toughness and
hardness because in this stage,
the steam might condense and
the water droplet can erode the
surface.
The auxiliary systems of the ST

are:
 ST sealing system
 Oil for lubrication and
adjustment
 Jacking gear
 Control and
instrumentation
The sealing system avoids the

leakage of steam from a higher-
pressure zone to a lower-
pressure one, especially from
the ST casing. Moreover, the air
cannot enter the LP stages,
where the pressure is lower than
the external pressure. The steam
Figure 3-25 Last blade of the LP turbine
is used to enhance the seal, at
least for the internal components.
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The lubrication system reduces the friction between the moving and the stationary parts
of the ST and it must assure the continuity of the service, therefore, there are three
pumps; one is linked via an adaptor to the ST shaft and the other two are electric
pumps. The lubrication system includes an oil treatment system and a cooling system
in order to keep the oil clean and cool.
The jacking gear is thought to keep the turbine in slow rotation, while the
turbomachinery is in the pre-heating stage, before the start or after the stop or every
time the turbine is still hot, but it is not fueled by steam. In these conditions, the rotor
and the casing have a non-homogeneous distribution of temperature and this causes
stresses and distortions; so that the jacking gear assures almost the same temperature
everywhere. It is useful, moreover, for the maintenance, since it allows small
displacements of the rotor for the inspections. Unlike the GT jacking gear, on the ST
there is an electric motor that moves the jacking gear. When the jacking gear runs, the
lubrication is guaranteed by an electric pump and it cannot start if the oil does not reach
a certain pressure.
3.7 HRSG
The HRSG is the bridging element between the GT and ST. The HRSG allows the heat
transfer between the hot gas exhausted from the GT and the water/steam fueling the
ST.
The HRSGs (see Figure 3-26) installed in Sparanise are modular and of vertical tube
natural circulation type without post-combustion. The HRSGs have three sections with
different pressures (HP, IP, and LP). Each section has an economizer, an evaporator,
a superheater and a tank (called drum) on the top of the HRGS.
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The steam from the HP

turbine is reheated,
before entering the IP
turbine.
Since the NOx control is

achieved during the
combustion, the HRSG
does not required a
system emission
treatment.
The main features are:
 No post-
combustion
 Low difference in
temperature,
therefore the heat
transfer is
convection-
conduction
The water is always under

control and an integral Figure 3-26 HRSG
deaerator is integrated on the
LP drum where the O2 and the
CO2 are removed from the saturated vapor. In order to keep a high quality of the water,
some samples are taken from the HP and IP drum.
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Another important parameter is the

Mass flow rate of gas [kg/s] 654.7
temperature and there is a system that injects
through spray attemperators water when the Temperature of inlet gas [°C] 593
temperature is over the prescribed range.
Temperature of outlet gas [°C] 105
The Table 3-3 summarizes the main
characteristics of the HRSG. HP steam Mass flow rare [kg/s] 77.68
The tubes are top supported, so they are free

HP Steam Pressure [bar] 117
to expand to the bottom.
HP Steam Temperature [°C] 540
The water from the condenser and the
reintegration system is pre-heated and then IP Steam Mass flow rate [kg/s] 12.22
sent to the deaerator. The steam/water from
the deaerator is collected inside the LP drum IP Steam Pressure [bar] 31.2
and the water naturally falls down and comes
back, passing through the evaporator. The IP Steam Temperature [°C] 317
steam is extracted from the top of the drum

RH Steam Mass flow rate [kg/s] 88.62
and sent to the superheater and then to the
IP turbine. (see Figure 3-27)
RH Steam Pressure [bar] 29.5
The IP section has a feed pump, which

RH Steam Temperature [°C] 540
delivers the water to the economizer and then
to the IP drum. The next two steps are the
LP Steam Mass flow rate [kg/s] 9.0
evaporator and the superheater. The steam
from the superheater is used for the re-
LP Steam Pressure [bar] 6.6
heating and it is mixed with the steam from
the HP ST. After the re-heating, it ends up LP Steam Temperature [°C] 262
inside the turbine. (see Figure 3-28)
Table 3-3 HRSG characteristics
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Figure 3-27 LP HRSG scheme
The HP section has almost the same scheme of the IP section, but it does not involve
reheating. The steam after the superheater reaches the HP turbine. (see Figure 3-29)
Figure 3-28 IP HRSG scheme
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As mentioned, the system is provided with some attemperators, which are involved in
the adjustment of the temperature of the superheated and reheated steam.
A steam trap is always implemented in a steam generator, since the water droplets can
be carried by the steam and hit the valve or other components; this causes vibrations,
fractures or erosion.
Figure 3-29 HP HRSG scheme
The drainage system is always on the bottom of the tubes and it employs steam traps
(mechanical, thermostatic and thermodynamic). There are two tank for the condensate:
continuous and intermittent. The latter receives the water during the starts and the
outages; in particular, it contains the water from the HP, IP and LP sections, from the
safety valves and filters on the suction side of the feed pumps, from the drainage of the
chimney, from the by-pass valves, and the overflow of the LP drum. The continuous
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tank receives the water when the plant operates. The steam generated inside this tank,
is sent to the deaerator
Figure 3-30 Condensate treatment system
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The condensate treatment system (Figure 3-30) is composed of the following elements:
 A condensate extraction pump (also called CEP) that draws out the water from
the condensate tank and it feeds the economizer and then the LP drum. There
are two condensate extraction pumps and one is redundant.
Figure 3-31 Cooling process
 A LP eco recirculation pump is used to adjust the temperature of the water from
the CEP. The water is taken from the LP economizer and it is mixed with the
condensate, before reaching the LP drum again. The reason is to control the
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exhaust gas temperature by

monitoring the water
temperature. In this case, there
are also two pumps.
 A feed water pump (FWP)
supplies water from the LP to the
IP and HP. This pump also feeds
the SH, RH and bypass of the HP
section.
The cooling process is depicted

in Figure 3-31 and Figure 3-32. In
this way, the process assures
lower irreversibilities since the
temperature difference between
the two fluids is kept very small.
Figure 3-32 Temperature profile When the ST is out of service,

during the start, a by-pass system
reduces the temperature of the
steam, mixing it with water and then exhausts it into the condenser. Each by-pass
station has a valve for reducing the pressure and the temperature.
Chemical treatment of the supplied water is made with the dosage of amine and oxygen
scavenger [21]. The water undergoes a treatment inside the drums where trisodium
phosphate is injected for the pH control.
The Table 3-4 depicts the chemical analysis performed on the samplings.
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Calenia Power Plant
Conductivity [µS/cm] pH O2 [ppb] SiO2 [ppb]
Feeding water at BP economizer X X X X
Continuous drainage BP X X X
Continuous drainage IP X X X
Continuous drainage HP X X X X
Superheated Steam IP X X X
Superheated Steam HP X X X
Table 3-4 Chemical analysis performed by the system
3.8 Air condenser
The steam from the ST or from the by-pass is treated by the air condenser. (see Figure
3-33).
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-33 Air Condenser scheme
There are 21 module: 18 are primary modules and 3 are secondary modules (see
Figure 3-34). Each module has its own axial fan that delivers the air to the finned tube
bundle from the bottom to the exhaust steam manifold as shown in the Figure 3-34.
The steam first meets the primary module, also known as parallel flow module and then
the not-condensable fluid (usually the 20% of the steam) feeds the secondary module,
also called counterflow module. Here, the steam is used to extract the air by means of
the two vacuum pumps Reducing the pressure inside the air condenser increases the
efficiency of the Rankine cycle, but the temperature influences a lot this process; in
fact, when the ambient temperature rises, the turbine backpressure rises as well.
Finally, the condensate falls down to the condensate header prior to be collected inside
a reservoir called condensate tank.
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Calenia Power Plant
Figure 3-34 Air Condenser
104
Chapter 4
4 Maintenance Theory
4.1 Introduction
Industry sustainability, global competition and the need to maximize equipment and
lifetime reliability require the integration of reliability Condition Monitoring (CM) and
maintenance precision practices with a cost-effective assessment technique [22].
The five key points of the maintenance are:
 Improving overall equipment and part effectiveness, quality and reliability

 Improving process performance with maintenance efficiency and effectiveness
 Training for all employees involved
 Involving operators in the daily maintenance and upkeep of the equipment
 Early equipment management and maintenance prevention design
Equipment is considered failed if there is some partial loss of function such as reduced
production rate or off-quality production outside their normal targets.
Friction, erosion, corrosion, stress and impact are the physical basis for most failures.
Hence, the easiest way to keep a system under control is to monitor its parameters.
Common parameters includes vibration, power usage, operating performance,
temperature, noise level, chemical composition, debris content, etc.
Maintenance Theory
Figure 4-1 depicts the typical degradation process experienced by equipment. The CM
has the task of detecting a detectable change in performance, alerting a possible failure
condition. It does not stop the problem, but it brings attention to it in time to deal with it
in a low-cost way. Indeed, the failure occurs often in an unpredictable way, so that the
first phase of addressing the issue is detection of the source, then repairing the
damages caused by the failure. The CM must be planned in a way that allows early
detection of performance change.
Figure 4-1 Manufacturing and equipment condition degradation process [22]
The maintenance operations and strategies are [22]:
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Maintenance Theory
 Breakdown or run-to-failure maintenance

 Preventive or time-based maintenance
 Predictive or condition-based maintenance
 Proactive or prevention maintenance
The philosophy of the Breakdown maintenance is to repair or replace damaged

equipment when obvious problems occur. In order to respond quickly to these, a large
inventory of spare parts is kept on-site. Since this is quite expensive, costs are offset
by purchasing cheap parts and employing cheap labor, resulting in poor level of service.
This can be justifiable when the shutdowns do not affect production and/or material
cost does not matter.
Preventive maintenance is achieved through scheduling ongoing maintenance

activities. The challenge is to determine the most effective interval between
maintenance activities. If the maintenance is performed too early, parts may be
replaced while still in good condition while unnecessarily halting production; if it is
performed too late, this could lead to failure before detection.
Condition-based maintenance means that the scheduling activities rely on the periodic
monitoring that warns of out-of-range parameters, such as temperature, vibration and
other unexpected trends. The advantages are having a smaller inventory of spare parts
and maintenance is only required when needed, therefore, useless outages are
avoided. On the other hand, monitoring equipment and trained personnel are required.
Indeed, the personnel must have a good knowledge and skill trained by the company.
Proactive maintenance is an innovative approach that includes both Preventive and

Predictive maintenance. An additional feature is redesign or modification, which
upgrades the system to new before any problems arise. Thus, in addition to preventing
the problem, it also focuses on the root cause failure analysis. In other words, it finds
the problem, indicating an improved predictive ability.
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Maintenance Theory
The aim of the maintenance is not only for reliability of the entire system, but also
availability. Thus, the maintenance must be as noninvasive as possible and minimize
system outages. CM is the best tool if it is coupled with good knowledge of the system
and, especially, with the mode of failure. Only experience improves the effectiveness
of maintenance.
The last concept we must highlight about the maintenance is Risk:
𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 × 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
Our goal is to reduce risk. This can be achieved by reducing probability and/or
minimizing consequences. The tools we can use are listed by Osarenren [22]:
 Failure mode, effects and critically analysis (FMECA)

 Hazard and operability study (HAZOP)
 Hazard identification (HAZD)
 Engineering and maintenance standard
 Standard Operating Procedures (ACE 3T SOPS)
 Root cause failure analysis (RCFA)
 Oversize equipment
 Training and upskilling
 Quality maintenance system
Minimizing consequences involves reducing loss after a failure has started. This can
be done with:
 Preventive maintenance
 Corrective maintenance
 Total productive maintenance (TPM)
 Nondestructive testing
 Vibration analysis
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Maintenance Theory
 Thermography
 Motor current analysis
 Oil analysis
 Computerized maintenance management system (CMMS)
 Key performance indicator (KPI)
 Risk-based inspection (RBI)
 Operator watch keeping
4.2 Economics of Reliability
The practice of engineering involves selecting alternative designs, procedures, plans

and methods that consider time and economic restrictions in their implementation.
Engineers are more concerned by the physical aspects and their goal is to achieve the
theoretical optimal working conditions, regardless the costs of this target. However,
economic considerations play a relevant role in the alternatives selection and only the
interaction between engineers and managers can lead to the accomplishment of a
common interest: to make the system work with high efficiency, at the minimum cost
for the owner.
Engineers propose technically feasible alternatives, while managers analyze them in

search of the prospective differences. The common aspects of all alternatives become
irrelevant. However, the factors that are monitored by the management are difficult to
measure, thus, the economic analysis is still the most difficult part of maintenance. The
less quantifiable aspects like workers’ attitude, level of standardization, sales practices
are usually left out of the decision model.
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Maintenance Theory
The theory of choice is based on the relative importance of three factors: Reliability,
Price and Performance. For example, the decisions in the Apollo Space Program were
dominated by reliability considerations because of the severe and adverse
consequences of a failure [23]. Decisions in the area of consumer electronics, on the
other hand, are mainly driven by price and performance. In the end, the economic
model must account for all of these factors.
If we intend to build in reliability within the capital investment, we must formulate an

empirical model that allows us to choose between several alternatives. Return on
investment (ROI) is one index, which estimates the attractiveness of a certain
investment, and is also the starting point for further and deeper analysis (Payback
period, Benefit/cost ratio, net return, etc.). Unfortunately, ROI is hard to implement in
maintenance analysis due to the high uncertainty of the future events, which are mostly
unpredictable and only experience can overcome this problem.
What is needed to evaluate ROI is frequency of avoided failures and an estimation of

the associated costs, which can be called “Cost of deferring Maintenance”. Hence, ROI
is:
𝑁𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑝
𝑅𝑂𝐼 =
𝐶𝑟
Where:
𝑁 is the number of annual failures, which can be avoided if we invest in maintenance

program
𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑝 is the reparation cost
𝐶𝑟 is the maintenance cost that might include the overhead cost
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Maintenance Theory
An overhead cost is one, which is not directly attributable to a specific job. In

maintenance, this means such items as storeroom operation, shop equipment and
facilities, as well as fringe benefits such as vacation and holiday pay and group
insurance.
ROI can be used in different forms, for example as a Payback Period (PP):
1
𝑃𝑃 =
𝑅𝑂𝐼
ROI is also useful in other analysis, combining it with more data:
 Benefit/cost ratio:
𝐵
= 𝑅𝑂𝐼 × 𝐿
𝐶
𝐿 is the expected useful life
 Net return
𝐵
𝑁𝑅 = ( × 𝐶𝑟 ) − 𝐶𝑟
𝐶
It is clear that in the case of a power plant, reliability and performance are the driving
factors for the decisions. Life cycle cost is a widespread methodology used by sellers
and customer to choose the best alternative. The equipment reliability impacts mainly
on the cost of maintenance and it is estimated with the following formula [23]:
𝑇𝑅𝑃 + 𝑇𝑇𝑃 𝑀𝑇𝑇𝑅 + 𝑇𝑇𝐶

𝑀𝐶 = 𝐶𝑆𝑃𝐼 + 𝐶𝑃𝑀 + 𝐶𝐶𝑀 = 𝐶𝑀 𝐼𝐶𝑅 + 𝑊𝐻 + 𝑊𝐻
𝑇𝐼𝑃 𝑀𝑇𝐵𝐹
𝐶𝑆𝑃𝐼 is the cost of spare parts inventory and it accounts the original manufacturing cost
of the spare parts 𝐶𝑀 and inventory cost rate 𝐼𝐶𝑅 (as percentage), including
depreciation, interest, handling cost and so on
𝐶𝑃𝑀 is the preventive maintenance costs and they are evaluated considering:
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Maintenance Theory
 𝑊 = hourly rate of service engineer, including hourly parts cost

 𝐻 = equipment usage in hours per time period considered (in-use time)
 𝑇𝑅𝑃 = scheduled time for preventive maintenance
 𝑇𝑇𝑃 = expected travel time for preventive maintenance
 𝑇𝐼𝑃 = schedule preventive maintenance interval, hours
𝐶𝐶𝑀 is the corrective maintenance cost, where:
 𝑀𝑇𝑇𝑅 is the mean time to repair

 𝑀𝑇𝐵𝐹 is the mean time between failure, expressed in terms of in-use time, not
calendar time
 𝑇𝑇𝐶 = expected travel time for corrective maintenance
Maintenance costs consist of both labor and material costs. Both costs can be
determined after a breakdown of the total maintenance program into small work
packages (work breakdown structure, WBS) is complete. Once this is done, each
package can be assigned the duration, material, personnel and expertise required
before being scheduled. This way, the labor costs are determined based on the number
of workers and total working hours.
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Maintenance Theory
4.3 GT Maintenance
Figure 4-2 GE vs. EOH Approach[57]
When a GT operates at base load, the expected operating time or lifetime is 100.000
of equivalent operating hours (EOH) or 3,000 starts, generally reached in 12 years. We
use the EOH to consider the different types of regimes (base, part load and peak load)
and start/stop cycles, so that we can compare a random operating time with a constant
based load operating time. The key service factors that influence the equipment life
are:
 Cyclic effects
 Firing Temperature
 Fuel
 Steam/water injection
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Maintenance Theory
GE uses the Starts and Hours Criterion, namely, typical max inspection intervals are
set based on the operating hours or the number of starts, whichever occurs first.
However, the service factors, that is, the factors impacting the maintenance, are
evaluated and they generally reduce the maintenance intervals. In particular, fuel, peak
load and water/steam injection affect the hours criteria, whereas trips from full load, fast
load variations and emergency start are called Starts factors. AEN uses the EOH
Criterion and the difference between the two is showed in Figure 4-2 where two cases
are depicted in order to highlight how the maintenance schedule may change when two
different approaches are employed. For example, in Case 1 there is a power plant
typically used for peak load (300 Starts/Yr. and few operating hours per year). GE,
based on his approach recommend the first HGPI after 4 years, while the EOH
approach would suggest a HGPI every 2.4 years. For a Baseload power plant (Case 2
in the diagram), GE will perform a HGPI after 3 years, while AEN within 2.1 years. The
two cases consider a gas turbine operating on natural gas fuel, at Baseload conditions
with no steam or water injection or trips from load. The first approach has the advantage
of long operating period between two maintenances, but it requires a more accurate
monitoring and the personnel has to keep the entire system thoroughly under control
every day. On the other hand, EOH approach allows having less strict daily monitoring,
but more maintenance operations during the entire operating life of the power plant.
Avoiding to stress out more the convenience of the two approaches, the main damages
for a GT are depicted in Figure 4-3 and Figure 4-4, where it is evident that the typical
stresses are caused by temperature, static and dynamic loading and a combination of
them like creep, low-cycle fatigue (LCF), high-cycle fatigue (HCF), erosion, oxidation
and high temperature corrosion as well as mechanical stress and wear [24]. In
particular, the time dependent factors are the dominant limiters of the life for continuous
duty machines and the cyclic factors are the limiters for peaking machines. GE
considers interactions of these two factors or a second-order effects, therefore GE
adopts the Starts and Hours Criteria. So that, if a power plant works mainly on peak
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Maintenance Theory
load, the Starts Criteria and the cyclic factors will be used. AEN takes into account the
influence of both factors and it does not consider their interactions.
The most stressed parts of the GT are the components along the hot gas path and the
rotor and they are designed for 100,000 EOH or 3,000 starts. However, there are many
other parts that have a shorter lifetime, but they are refurbished during the
routine/scheduled maintenance.
Figure 4-3 Effects causing aging in a GT [14]
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Maintenance Theory
Figure 4-4 Design Criteria and Life Expenditure Effects [14]
A typical Checklist for the Shutdown inspections5 (as GE prefers calling them [18])
settles first Minor Inspection (MI) after 8.000 EOH, the first HGPI after 25 kEOH and
the Major Overhaul (MO) or Major Inspection at 50 kEOH.
Nowadays, the trend is to postpone the inspections and, since the design and the daily
maintenance is better than before, the first HGPI can be performed after 33 kEOH and
the MO at 66 kEOH. In both cases, the power plant requires a lifetime extension (LTE)
after 100 kEOH, which assures another 100.000 EOH or 3.000 starts with high
reliability, availability and safety (see Figure 4-5).
5 Unlike the Shutdown inspections, the running inspection (see later in this chapter) can be made while
the unit is operating
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Maintenance Theory
The minor inspection comprises the visual inspection of the accessible regions of the
machine, the compressor and the turbine inlet, as well as the combustion chamber, the
exhaust and the external GT components. Optionally, non-accessible regions may be
examined using borescopes.
Figure 4-5 Maintenance Checklist [15]
The GT is opened for HGPI and, based on the examination, the replacement of some
components may be needed. Non-destructive examinations (NDE) are performed as
well.
During the MO, the compressor casing is also removed and all compressor blades are
inspected. NDE are performed in searching of cracks on the blades. During a MO, the
rotor is being extracted and checked thoroughly.
Figure 4-6 summarizes the areas targeted during the inspection. It is important to note
the Combustion Inspection (CI), which is recommended by some companies. The CI is
a relatively short (i.e. typically 7 days) outage where the scope of work includes partial
disassembly of the combustion turbine and replacement of fuel nozzles, liners, flow
sleeves and transition pieces, along with consumables nuts, bolts and gaskets. A visual
inspection of the inlet of the compressor section, first stage turbine nozzles and turbine
exhaust area is also conducted along with a visual inspection of the compressor section
using a borescope. Any damage found during CI can influence planning of subsequent
overhauls [25].
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Maintenance Theory
After the first two CIs at 12,000 and 24,000 EOH, the CI coincides with the HGPI
intervals.
Figure 4-6 Areas of Turbine Targeted during Inspection[25]
The LTE starts with a Component Review and then a Component Analysis. The
components for which further operation to 200 kEOH is considered critical are
determined on the basis of their design and design data. In particular, the components
depicted in Figure 4-3 are subject to lifetime limitations due to the combination of high
temperature and dynamic load. After the Component review has been made, some
decisions must be taken, i.e. further investigations (NDE, visual inspections,
component analysis, sample taking) must be done or just the replacement of some
components.
The component analysis includes finite element method (FEM) and fracture mechanics
(FM). The most common NDEs performed include ultrasonic test, dye penetrant
inspection, magnetic flux inspection, wall thickness and length measurement of the
components.
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Maintenance Theory
The LTE is unit-specific because each GT has a unique history. The unit-specific LTE
analysis focuses on the unit history and the operating mode. The unit history discloses
all maintenances performed and their results, which components have already been
replaced or repaired; this gives us a guideline about the typical problems the machine
have experienced.
The operating mode includes the way the machine has been operating in the past, how
it is operating now and how and how long it is supposed to operate in the future, which
is a parameter given by the power plant owner.
The running inspections help the phase of maintenance planning and are made while
the unit is operating. In addition, the interval of shutdown inspections may be reduced
based on the results of the running inspections.
The running inspection mostly gathers operating inspection data and is very convenient
since it does not require the outage of the plant. Typical data of interest are:
 load vs. exhaust temperature,

 vibration,
 fuel flow and pressure,
 bearing metal temperature,
 lube oil pressure,
 exhaust gas temperatures,
 exhaust temperature spread variation
 startup time.
Load vs. exhaust temperature is affected by the ambient temperature and barometric
pressure. High exhaust temperature is an indicator of deterioration of internal parts,
excessive leak or fouled air compressor.
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Maintenance Theory
The vibration trend must be monitored and in case of large changes or a continuously
increase indicates the need to apply corrective action.
Changes in the fuel pressure can indicate the fuel nozzle passages are plugged, the
fuel metering elements are damaged or out of calibration.
The exhaust temperature spread is an important factor for the diagnosis of combustion
system deterioration or fuel distribution problems; they will affect the HGPI interval.
Startup time is just a reference against which parameters like speed, fuel signal,
exhaust temperature, etc. can be compared and evaluated.
Coast-down time is a test that allows us to evaluate the bearing alignment and bearing
condition. We can observe the time period from when the fuel is shut off until the rotor
comes to a standstill.
4.3.1 Hot Gas Path Inspection
The purpose of a HGPI is to examine those parts exposed to high temperature from
the hot gases discharged from the combustion process.
The HGPI includes the full scope of the combustion inspection and, additionally, other
elements shown in Figure 4-7.
The typical intervals have already been mentioned, but there are some factors that can
influence the interval and they are shown in Figure 4-8.
120
Maintenance Theory
Since the CCGT may be operated with different fuels, it is important to pay attention to
the kind of fuel employed in the power plant. Particular care must be taken when the
fuel is liquid, i.e. residual fuel or crude oil fuels because they generally release a higher
amount of radiant thermal energy and frequently contain corrosive elements such as
sodium, potassium and lead that can lead to accelerated hot corrosion of turbine
nozzles and buckets. The highly corrosive fuels always contain inhibitors that cause
clogs.
Figure 4-7 HGPI - key elements [18]
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Maintenance Theory
The natural gas is the most suitable fuel for the CCGT and usually the HGPI interval is
defined for natural gas.
Figure 4-8 Influencing Factors on the HGPI [18]
Trips and fast starts are of great importance for the thin metal parts because they
respond more quickly to the thermal changes; therefore, they are subject to higher
thermal stress, most of the time cyclic. The weight of a start on the interval of
maintenance depends on the condition of the machine: hot, warm or cold.
GE [18] states that the hot start is the condition of restarting after a down of less than
4 hours. Between 4 and 40 hours, the start is called warm and cold start above 40
hours of down. Those conditions are typical for certain kind of power plant, i.e. peaking
units have high starting frequency and a low number of hours per start, which lead to a
high percentage of cold starts. On the other hand, a continuous duty application
experiences a low number of starts and most starts are cold due to the outages. In the
latter case, the maintenance interval is determined by service hours rather than starts.
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Maintenance Theory
Air quality is another influencing factor and it affects mostly the efficiency of the axial
compressor. In fact, the air contains dust, salt and oil and they are the main causes of
corrosion, erosion and fouling of the compressor blades. Typical corrosion type for the
GT blades is pitting, which is the potential site for fatigue cracking initiation.
Figure 4-9 HGPI: Starts-based condition[18]
The bigger particles cause the erosion, while the smaller ones along with the oil vapor,
smoke, sea salt and industrial vapors cause the fouling. To cope with the latter issue,
it is always possible to conduct an on-line compressor washing (i. e. while the GT runs)
and in case of severe fouling condition, an off-line compressor washing (i. e. .the GT is
not running)
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Maintenance Theory
The overall efficiency is mainly influenced by the compressor efficiency. Hence, we

must take much care of the condition of the axial compressor, but unfortunately, there
are also non-recoverable losses, such as leakages or clearances larger than the
designed ones. Despite a good maintenance system, such losses are unavoidable, but
may be monitored.
Figure 4-10 HGPI: hours-based criterion[18]
Typical correction factors are given by GE and are shown in Figure 4-9 and Figure
4-10.
Ansaldo offers also a HGPI extended where, additionally, the rotor is being extracted
and not only the hot parts are inspected.
The following table (source: AEN) is the total number of activities carried out during a
HGPI.
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Maintenance Theory
No. Activities AEN Customer
Acquiring operational data and the malfunctioning list before
1. the switch-off. Chemical and physical analysis of lubricant oil X X

in order to check the quality.
Out of the grid, shutdown and cooling engaged to the jacking

2. X
gear.
External Visual Inspection, looking for leak of water, fuel, oil

3. and air from tubes, flanges, joints, flexible hoses, gaskets, X
etc.
4. Check of the integrity of the insulation and instrumentations. X
Removal of the insulation, thermocouples at the outlet,

5. disassembly of the electrical connections and the external X
pipeline.
Removal of the cabin, including the pipeline, electrical

6. X
connections and the auxiliary systems (e.g. fire service).
Opening the manhole in order to enter the internal case and

7. to check on the internal components (outlet channel, intake X
channel, combustion chamber.
8. Assembly the scaffolding. X
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Maintenance Theory
Disassembly fuel pipeline, but only the ones that obstruct the
9. X
following maintenance phases.
Check on the radial tolerance when the turbomachinery is still

10. X
closed (1st compressor stage, 1st and 4th turbine stages)
Visual inspection of the combustion chamber (internal and

11. X
external case, as well as the tiles and the burners)
Visual inspection, where it is possible, of the axial and/or

12. X
diagonal swirlers.
13. Dimensional check on the combustion chamber. X
Visual inspection of the air intake, filters hall, compressor

14. X
bearing housing and compressor cleaning system.
15. Visual inspection of the IGV. X
Visual inspection of the 1st compressor stage (only the

16. X
accessible parts).
17. Visual inspection of the outlet housing. X
Removal of the burners that prevent the disassembly of the

18. X
turbomachinery.
Opening of the flange that links the 2nd and the 3rd external
19. X
housing.
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Maintenance Theory
20. Removal of the upper part of the 3rd external housing. X
21. Removal upper part of the turbine blade carrier X
22. Check on axial and radial tolerance when the turbine is open. X
23. Removal of the bottom part of turbine blade carrier. X
Visual inspection and, eventually, the cleaning of the contact

24. X
planes between the housings and the other parts.
25. Cleaning, visual inspection and check the elongation of bolts. X
26. Turbine stationary blades disassembly (TLe1  TLe4). X
27. Cleaning/sandblasting of turbine blade carrier. X
28. Visual inspection turbine blade carrier. X
Cleaning and visual inspection of the sealing rings on the

29. X
stator.
Cleaning, inspection and NDT of the turbine stationary blades

30. X
on the 4th stage (Tle4).
Replacing turbine stationary blades (TLe1  Tle3) with new or
31. reprocessed blades; replacing checked blades on the 4th X

stationary stage (Tle4).
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Maintenance Theory
Turbine moving blades (TLa1  TLa4) disassembly (rotor is

32. X
kept inside the housing).
33. Visual inspection of the turbine rotor disks and sealing rings. X
Cleaning, visual inspection and NDT of the turbine moving

34. X
blades of the 4th stage (TLa4).
New or reprocessed blades replacing for the turbine moving

blades of the 1st  3rd stages; reassembly of the turbine
35. X
moving blades (already checked and, eventually using new
ones) of the 4th stage (Tla4).
36. Reassembly the bottom part of the turbine blade carrier. X
New and reprocessed moving parts grinding, only on

37. X
condition.
Check on the axial and radial tolerance when the turbine is

38. X
open.
Reassembly of the upper part of the turbine blade carrier and

39. X
then bolts tightening.
40. 3rd external housing reassembly and bolts tightening. X
41. Turbine blade carrier centering. X
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Maintenance Theory
42. Axial and radial tolerance check when the turbine is closed. X
43. Pipeline, electrical connections, etc. reassembly. X
Visual inspection and reassembly of the turbine outlet

44. X
thermocouples.
45. Insulating reassembly. X
Cabin reassembly, including pipeline, electrical connections

46. X
and auxiliary systems (e.g. fire service), sealing test.
Pre-startup check on IGV, blow off valves, regulating valves
47. on the fuel pipeline, oil pump for lubricant and uplifting and X
the flame detectors.
48. Scaffolding removal. X
49. Visual inspection in searching for foreign objects. X
50. Manholes locking. X
I&C check. Loop check on outlet thermocouples, anti-surging

51. X
system and oil-lubricant pump.
52. Check and calibration of critical instrumentation. X
53. Final visual inspection of the turbomachinery. X
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Maintenance Theory
54. Functional parameters and setup recording. X X
55. Compressor off-line cleaning. X
56. Startup. X
NOTES:
 Borescopic inspection is performed only on condition and when the Engineering

Service suspects the FOD presence or the contact between two moving parts
that are supposed not to touch each other.
 When FOD is detected, all shards must be sent to Ansaldo laboratories for
further analysis.
 Visual inspection covers only the areas where disassembly is not required.
 NDT scheme is summarized in Table 4-1.
In addition, some activities are carried out only on condition and they are listed in
the following table:
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Maintenance Theory
Tiles replacement
Repair and welding
Compressor stationary blades punching
Burners removal and replacement
Main auxiliary parts maintenance
Activities implying the rotor extraction and the IGV disassembly:
Compressor blades recoating
Check on the hollow shaft
Check on the air tubes
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Maintenance Theory
No.
Component Test area Remarks
PT ET VT
Airfoil X* X**
Turbine stator
1. blades stage 4 Leading and
X* X**
trailing edges
NDT only for HGPI carried
out at 25000 EOH interval.
Airfoil X* X**
Turbine rotor
2. blades stage 4 Leading and
X* X**
trailing edges
Annular
Burners, insert
Combustion X
3. and tiles.
chamber
Exhaust cone welds X X

4.
Table 4-1 NDT scheme (PT = Dye Penetrant Test, ET = Eddy Current Test, VT =
Visual Test, O = Optional)
(*) At 25000 EOH, the turbine 4th stage blades/vanes are inspected by NDT and
reassembly if acceptable; at 50000 EOH, the blades/vanes will be replaced with new
or refurbished components.
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Maintenance Theory
Reparation
Replacement
Component interval/reprocess
interval (EOH)
(EOH)
Turbine moving and stationary
blades
Moving blades stage 1 (Tla1) 25.000 50.000
Stationary blades stage 1 (Tle1) 25.000 50.000
Stationary and moving
compressor blades
Coated moving and stationary 50.000 6(1) -
blades
Combustion chamber
Burners inserts 25.000 (1) 50.000 (1)
Steel tiles and accessories 25.000 (1) 50.000 (1)
Refractory tiles / 25.000 (1)
Guide ring 25.000 50.000
(**) The ET checking is carried out only if necessary.
Table 4-2 Maintenance plane of the main V94.3A4 GT components
6 On condition, after the visual inspection
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Table 4-2 gives an overview of the intervals of reparation and replacement for the main
components of V94.3A4 GT.
NOTES
Table data must be considered theoretical values and as guidelines for the long-
term maintenance and spare parts planning.
Data are based on the following hypothesis:
 V94.3A4 GT in standard setup

 Prescribed fuel and air intake conditions, accordingly with what Ansaldo
Energia has established
 Recommended management of the power plant, according to what the
manufacturer has suggested.
The maintenance plan can be adjusted in order to meet the costumers’ needs, but
keeping in mind the recommendations of AEN and subcontractors.
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Maintenance Theory
4.3.2 Major Inspection or Major Overhaul
Figure 4-11 GT MO key elements[18]
The purpose of the MO is to examine all of the internal rotating and stationary
components from the inlet of the machine through the exhaust section of the machine
[18]. Since the MO includes the elements of the CI and HGPI, it should be scheduled
based on the previous borescope and hot-gas-path inspections. Figure 4-11 depicts
the key elements of the Major Overhaul.
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Maintenance Theory
4.4 Non Destructive Test
Maintenance of a GT involves the use of many tools and among these, NDT are the
most common and they are always employed in order to detect damages and defects
that may lead to a malfunctioning or a fail.
NDT are needed for inspecting GT components and mainly hot gas parts. They are
generally used for three different purposes [26]:
 for quality control in the shop during different phases of manufacturing or repair
 for user acceptance of new or reconditioned components
 to support in-service assessment for run/repair/replace decisions or forensic
assessment after failures.
4.4.1 Visual Inspection
Visual inspection is a low-cost technique and it is useful only when the defect is big
enough to be visible, therefore this test is the least accurate and it relies on the
expertise of the operator. However, it can be executed while the component is in
operation.
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Maintenance Theory
4.4.2 Dye Penetrant Testing (PT)
On the other hand, Penetrant testing (PT) is efficient and well suited for revealing
discontinuities such as cracks, pores and other defects. PT also indicates the length,
shape and density of the defects. However, PT provides no direct indication of the
depth of the defect, and this is the most important drawback of all PT methods.
PT typically requires the following phases (see Figure 4-12):
 surface cleaning because dirt, oil or grease may prevent the penetrant from
entering the defect
 spreading of the penetrant, with waiting time for entering the defects
 cleaning of additional liquid from surfaces
 spreading of the developer
 surface cleaning under appropriate lighting conditions
 final cleaning of surfaces to avoid corrosion and other damage.
Depending on the way the excess liquid is removed, penetrants are divided into water
washable, solvent washable and post emulsifier types. These types show different
degrees of sensitivity so that the water washable ones are least sensitive, and post
emulsifier types most sensitive ones.
In manual PT, solvent or water washable penetrant liquids are usually applied, whereas
the emulsifier types are frequently used automatized inspection stations.
Lately fluorescent penetrants have appeared on the market and they are used similarly
as color dye penetrants, but requires using UV-A light; PT provides best sensitivity to
defects and is widely recommended by manufacturers for gas turbine components [26].
PT is usually executed for [27]
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Maintenance Theory
 Verification of the adherence of white metal on bearings at the edges

 Inspection of austenitic, uncoated turbine blades and vanes
 Crack detection in austenitic bolting threads
 Surface crack detection in gas burner tube welds.
Figure 4-12 Stages of Dye Penetrant Testing
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Maintenance Theory
4.4.3 Eddy Current Testing (ET)
Figure 4-13 Eddy current testing
This technique generates eddy currents up to a few millimeters below the surface of a
conductive material through an induced alternating magnetic field. Material defect will
disturb the flow of eddy currents and generate a traceable signal [27]. For a better
understanding of how this technique works, it is worth looking at Figure 4-13.
ET is the most effective method for detecting and sizing small cracks near the surface.
It is a relatively expensive technique that is mainly used on non-ferromagnetic
materials.
They are usually used for:
 Crack detection and sizing in blades, vanes, blade roots and attachments
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Maintenance Theory
 Thickness measurements of the coating on blades and vanes

 Integrity assessment of protective layer against oxidation, on blades and vanes
4.4.4 Ultrasonic Testing (UT)
Figure 4-14 Ultrasonic Testing: a) No defects, b)Small defect, c) Large defect
Ultrasonic testing (UT) is traditionally even less common for gas turbine inspections
than ET, although UT also has the potential to indicate defect depth and is widely
applied elsewhere in engineering.
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Maintenance Theory
However, Ultrasonic techniques are used for turbine blade measurement and normally
applied to detect cracks in the shoe of the blade [28]. A technique studied by Kauppinen
[29] made possible to measure thickness of the coating. UT cannot detect surface
defects though, so ET or PT are instead used.
UT essentially uses the transmission of high-frequency sound waves through a material

to detect internal defects and for the thickness and sizing measurements. Figure 4-14
shows three typical cases:
a) No defects. UT is useful to measure the thickness of the item converting the

distance between two pulses into a convenient unit of measurement;
b) Small defect. The diagram shows a defect echo and it provides us the distance
from the surface (by means of the gap between the first two echoes) and the
defect size (by means of the amplitude of the echo)
c) Large defect. UT diagram shows an unexpected distance between the only two
echoes. It might mean that the thickness of the item is smaller than the nominal
one or it is the proof of a large defect.
The main uses are [27]:
 Crack detection and characterization

 Verification of the adherence of white metal on bearings
 Inspection of critical areas of turbine casings and rotor shafts
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Maintenance Theory
4.4.5 Magnetic Particle Testing (MT)
Figure 4-15 Magnetic Particle Testing Phases
MT can detect flaws on the surface of ferromagnetic materials, using fluorescent, black
or dry magnetic particles. MT and PT are interchangeable, but MT has higher
controllable sensitivity and it works only on ferromagnetic materials.
It is mainly used for [27]:
 Inspection of uncoated turbine blades and vanes

 Inspection of turbine casings and sealing surfaces
 Weld examination
 Bolting Inspection
Figure 4-15 summarizes MT steps.
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Maintenance Theory
MT does not work properly when defects are on the surface.
4.5 CCPP Startup
At the end of a Major or HGPI, GT must have to run and the startup phase is of great
importance and its incorrect execution might nullify the entire maintenance.
The gas turbine, like any

internal combustion engine, is
not self-starting and requires an
external source of cranking
power for startup [30].
Figure 4-16 depicts a typical

startup phase. However, this
picture does not show the
previous steps that enable the
rotor to start turning. There are
16 steps and the first one is
needed only in case of black start.
Figure 4-16 Typical Startup Curves[58]
The second step starts after the request of an operator only if all authorizations for the
start are present and the static frequency converter (SFC) is in TG normal start mode.
This step leads to:
 Air dryer stop

 Natural gas (also called ignition in the literature) sequence start
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Maintenance Theory
 Lube-oil and jacking gear sequences start

 Oil pump start
 Opening of the inlet compressor air shutter
 Switch to automatic control the IGV control system
When the step 2 has been done, the step 3 begins and it commands the blow-off valves
to open (in order to prevent the surge of the compressor).
The step 4 starts when the SFC is ready and the oil pump is already operating.
The HRSG purge can start only when the blow-off valves have reached the required
position.
The HRSG purge is the first step showed in Figure 4-16, although it is the 5th step in
the startup sequence. The purge ensures the evacuation of any stagnant pockets of
combustible gases and prevents the possible explosions. The purge is aimed by using
an intermittent turbine speed, before the coast down of the rotor.
After the HRSG purge, the natural gas sequence is allowed to start (step 8 of the startup
sequence), as well as the SFC, because it has to accelerate the rotor until 2100 rpm.
The deceleration leads the turbine to 10-15% of the nominal speed (300-450 rpm),
which has been found to be optimum from the standpoints of both thermal fatigue
damage to hot gas path component as well as reliable ignition. The ignition sequence
consists of turning on ignition power to the spark plugs and then firing the fuel flow as
well as the switching from diffusion to premixed mode and vice versa. The ignition
sequence has 19 steps and the first seven steps are required to allow the startup
sequence to keep going. The 7th step is active when the turbine reaches 750 rpm and
the gas valve is open, so the gas can flow to the burners. The 8 th step of ignition
sequence starts at 2700 rpm.
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Maintenance Theory
The burners work initially in diffusion mode and the switching occurs between the step
8 and 15.
The startup sequence re-start after the completion of the 7th step of the ignition
sequence and it follows the acceleration of the rotor until over 2940 rpm that means
the GT is ready for the excitation and then it can chase the grid voltage. This is the last
step prior the GT can be considered ready for the grid parallel.
The auxiliary sequences are the Lube-oil, jacking gear, ignition, HRSG purge, and
compressor cleaning sequence.
I have already explained the ignition sequence, which is requested at the step 8 of the
startup sequence. Lube oil and jacking gear sequences start at step 2 and they must
be completed in order to let the startup sequence pass to the next step.
Lube-oil sequence is in control over the oil pumps for lubrication, the uplift of the rotor
and jacking gear sequence.
The first task of the lube-oil sequence is to test the oil pumps by stopping the main and
the auxiliary pump and monitoring the pressure of the oil. If the outcome of test is
positive, the two pumps are re-started. This test cannot be performed if the emergency
pump is operating or the speed sensor of the rotor is broken or when the speed is over
6 rpm. When the three oil pumps are on, the jacking gear sequence is shut down.
The oil pump for the uplift of the rotor is turned on when the oil pressure reaches the
required value and the auxiliary and emergency pump are turned off. The step 10
informs the startup sequence to go on and gives the permission to start to HRSG purge
sequence.
The HRSG purge sequence includes 7 steps and it begins at the step 5 of the startup
sequence, unless all the permissions have been collected. The purge is performed by
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Maintenance Theory
means of the SFC that regulates the speed of the rotor in order to guarantee the
cleaning of the HRSG.
The jacking gear sequence starts immediately after the stop of the GT and it lasts 24
hours. The jacking gear works when the GT is still or when it is decelerating, unless the
GT speed is the same of the jacking gear. In the latter case, the jacking gear can
engage the rotor, otherwise the jacking gear decelerates to catch the speed of the
turbine and this is valid when the turbine is still.
The sequence starts only if the oil pump for the uplift is on and the oil pressure is
adequate. The goal is to keep the turbine turning at 108 rpm and this prevents the
thermal deformation of the rotor during the shutdown phase.
Finally, the compressor cleaning is performed to remove the dust and other particles
from the blades, because they reduce the efficiency of the GT and they cause erosion.
Two reservoirs (washing and rinsing reservoirs) must be filled before the cleaning.
There are, moreover, two types of cleaning: on-line and off-line. The latter uses water
and a cleanser.
The off-line cleaning starts when the GT speed is under 240 rpm and it goes on while
the speed increases until 800 rpm when the amount of water+cleanser is very low
inside the reservoir and the coast down begins. The second phase is the rinsing and
the system uses only water while the GT accelerates until 800 rpm. The valves for the
drainage are open and the cleaning sequence ends only when no more water exit the
valves.
The drying phase takes place after the cleaning and it requires the GT to operate at
30% of the load for few minutes.
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Maintenance Theory
The on-line cleaning does not use the cleanser and the valves for the drainage are
closed. The GT is to be working at base load in premix mode. As for the off-line
cleaning, the controlling parameter is the amount of water inside the reservoirs, but if
the duration of the process exceeds a certain value, the valve is being closed.
4.6 Garanzia Totale di Funzionamento
GTF stands for “Garanzia Totale di Funzionamento” that is, the service offered by
Ansaldo Energia for the power plant, built or not by Ansaldo itself.
GTF includes all the maintenance services and the operations needed for the reliable
operation of a power plant; this is commonly called Performance Focused Maintenance
(PFM). The activities performed are:
 Periodic Inspections of the plant
 Preventive or Time-Based and Breakdown or Run-to-Failure Maintenance
 Planned Maintenance
 Inspections made in situ or demanded to specialized laboratories
 Coordination of the logistic services for the maintenance
 Technical Consultancy and predictive analysis
 Coordination of the relations with suppliers
 Supply of spare parts
 Computerized Maintenance management system (CMMS)
 Information system and training for operators

GTF, additionally, offers the following activities:
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Maintenance Theory
 Surveillance and maintenance of other installations such as the light

enclosure, fire-fighting system and installation for the treatment of wastes
as the law prescribes.
 The cleaning of the TPP (thermal power plant), of the buildings and the
disposal of wastes in authorized landfill
 The maintenance of the green space
4.6.1 Maintenance Schedule for a CCGT
Inspection Duration First Inspection Intervals between two

Inspection
type [d] [kEOH GT] inspections [kEOH GT]
MI 4 8.3 8.3
GT AE94.3
HGPI 28 25 50
A2
MO 40 50 50
SI7 4 8.3 8.3
GT
MI 14 25 50
Generator
MO 35 50 50
7 Short inspection. Only the external components are inspected, therefore only few parts require to be
disassembled
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Maintenance Theory
SI 4 8.3 8.3
ST
MI 14 25 50
Generator
MO 35 50 50
MI 21 25 50
ST
MO 40 50 50
MI 6 8.3 8.3
HRSG
MO 36 50 50
Table 4-3 Maintenance Schedule of the main components of a CCGT [source:

Ansaldo Energia spa]
Table 4-3 lists the maintenance schedule of the main components of a CCGT.
For further details about the meaning of the various types of maintenance, see 4.3,
where the maintenance types are explained.
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Maintenance Theory
4.6.2 Periodical Inspections – Predictive Analysis
GTF uses control monitoring to keep the status of the system under control. The
analysis is done with the plant in operation and it must not interfere with the productivity
of the plant. Normally the predictive analysis are:
 Vibrational control of the main elements (semestral)

 Thermographic analysis of the hot parts (semestral)
 Oil analysis (GT and ST lubrication, Transformer, etc.) (annual)
Daily meetings occur between Ansaldo and the client in order to schedule the
inspections, based on the reports and the CMMS. After the inspection has been made,
the entire maintenance program must be updated.
The vibrational control must be performed on all the turbomachinery (pumps, fans,
compressor, etc.). It gives us the required information about the dynamic balance of
the rotors, mismatches along two coupled shafts and wear of the bearings. The
recommended time between two inspections is six months, regardless the effective
operating hours; indeed, when a machine runs steadily for three months, it will undergo
an inspection since it has worked for approximately 2000 hours, and this justifies some
controls. If the machine does not run, it can be evaluated six months as the optimum
period for a vibrational control, because static and permanent deformations can occur.
The monitored machines are the main pumps, the fans/extractor for the air and other
gases and their respective electric motors. The typical measurements are the vertical,
horizontal and axial vibrations on the points depicted on Figure 4-17.
In order to avoid plant outages, all devices have a redundancy so that the operating
machine is analyzed first, and then the redundant item.
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Maintenance Theory
Figure 4-17 Measurements points on a motor/pump
Thermographic analysis of the hot parts are made by means of an IR thermographic

camera and as a result of this, we can find “hot spots”, points where the temperature is
higher than expected. The hot parts can reach high temperature because they are in
contact with hot fluids (such as pipeline, HRSG, chimney, etc.) or the electrical
components due to the Joule effect. If there is a hot spot on the HRSG, it can mean
that there is a lack of insulation.
Thermographic analysis is mainly performed for the following devices:
 Hot surfaces, insulated and not

 Transformers
 Cable terminals
 Terminal box for the switchboard
 Busbar
Even in this case the control can be done every six months.
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Maintenance Theory
Oil analysis is undertaken to control the quality and chemical composition of the mineral
oil, used for the electrical insulation, cooling and lubrication (especially the
turbomachinery).
Through oil analysis, we can get knowledge about the state of the oil and of the device
as well; hence, we can find a malfunctioning on time, before this leads to serious failure,
taking the plant out of service. Furthermore, it helps the planning of routine
maintenance.
The dielectric oil, mainly present in the transformers, must undergo the following
analysis:
 Gas Chromatography – Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA)

 Determination of the furan compounds
 Determination of the metals or other inorganic elements dissolved in the oil
 Measurement of the dissipation factor (tanδ)
 Determination of the solid matter in suspension inside the oil
 Determination of the amount of water dissolved
 Characterization of the aspect and the color
 Determination of the amount of Chlorine
 Determination of the dielectric strength
 Determination of the presence of Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
 Determination of the acidity
A full analysis is not always required; therefore, a partial analysis can sometimes be
enough, especially for machines up to 25 MVA. The best time for a full analysis is during
the oil replacement and, eventually, cleaning treatment.
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Maintenance Theory
The oil contains sulfur, which can be corrosive. The analysis can determine the
compatibility of the oil with the transformer; in the other case, the oil must be treated in
order to recover it and use it at least for 18 months.
4.6.3 Routine Maintenance
Routine maintenance includes:
 Emergency services
 Reserve maintenance
 Lubrication of the machines
The emergency services and reserve maintenance outline the procedures that make
all the systems and the machines safe, and the AEN/GTF staff with the aim of the local
trained staff execute all operations. Routine maintenance is the duty of AEN/GTF,
unlike the maintenance planning, which is arranged with the client.
The emergency services cover urgent repairs and all the undelayable activities, in order
to keep the plant working and safe. Thus, there must be always at least one operator
available or nearby the plant.
Reserve maintenance includes all activities that can be postponed by a day or, at least
until the normal working hours and this is possible only if the repair involves an
inessential component and the power plant can keep running.
Finally, lubrication maintenance involves activities such as the inspection of the amount
of lubricant and the quality control in order to refill or to replace it. In view of the correct
and on time operation, everything must be in stock in situ.
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Maintenance Theory
4.6.4 Planned Maintenance
When a part of a plant is under the planned maintenance, it must be out of service;
therefore, such maintenance has to be settled in accordance with the client, based on
the experience of AEN/GTF and the manual given by the manufacturer.
There are three types of planned maintenances:
 Annual maintenance
 Periodic maintenance
 Condition-based maintenance
All the components must be checked annually, but the maintenance operations can be
different year by year, accordingly with the state of the plant and of each component.
The operating hours are among the most important parameters to define the need of
the maintenance. In particular, the following components require the annual
maintenance:
 GT
 HRSG
 ST
 Air condenser
 Feed pump and extractor pump for the condensate
 Electrical generators
 Distributed control system (DCS)
 System for the emission monitoring
 Main transformers
 Instrumentation
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Maintenance Theory
Based on the manufacturer manual, some components may require maintenance with
higher frequency than once annually. Moreover, the daily inspections can reveal some
parameters out of the range; in this case, a condition-based maintenance can be
planned.
4.6.5 Extraordinary Maintenance
Extraordinary maintenance occurs when incidental failures cause the shutdown of the
plant. Operators investigate the reasons for the shutdown and repair the damaged
components in order to restore the plant back to the operating state.
The part of the plant that undergoes extraordinary maintenance will be recorded on the
Maintenance Book, which also includes other types of maintenance.
AEN/GTF guarantees technical advice from the headquarter in case of unsolvable

problems in situ. Moreover, the additional support includes:
 Supplying of the spare parts

 Updating of documentation
 Administrative functions
 Dealing with the trade union relations and with other subcontracted companies
In order to guarantee reliable operations of the plant, spare parts must be always
available, with some stored at the plant and others at the headquarters in Genova.
After the replacement of a component, it will be reprocessed so that it can be reused.
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Maintenance Theory
The management of maintenance is coordinated by means of the CMMS, which allows

recording of all the operations of maintenance. The system contains the details of the
components, the maintenance procedures, the lists of spare parts, the consumption of
the oil and the amount of refilling, etc.
4.6.6 Organizational structure
The organizational structure is depicted in Figure 4-18.
The GTF manager has to:
 Be the bridge between AEN/GFT and the client

 Coordinate the operations of the routine, planned and extraordinary
maintenance, as well as the auxiliary operations
 Work out the plan of the maintenance, in accordance with supervisors
 Allow the purchase of required and requested materials and components
 Be the spokesperson for AEN/GTF toward the trade unions, the authorities, etc.
 Take care of accident-prevention and the hygiene on the working place
 Signal inappropriate behaviors of staff, which can be harmful and dangerous
 Attend periodic meetings with Calenia and plan maintenance
 Keep the client updated about the maintenance and state of the plant
 Assist the training program for the staff
 Analyze the results of the periodic controls and send them to the headquarters
The service manager deals with the relations with the client and subcontractors. He
can partially take over the role of other supervisors, since he has a large amount of
experience and knowledge of the power plant. He has also knowledge of the security,
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Maintenance Theory
personnel management, and administration. In certain cases, he can replace the GTF
manager, unless the GTF manager personally names someone else.
GTF Manager
Service Manager
Security Manager CMMS/Planner/QA
Process Supervisor Material Manager
Secretary/Database
Maintenance
Manager
Mechanical
Electrical Supervisor
Supervisor
Subcontractor Subcontractor
I&C Supervisor DCS Supervisor
Subcontractor
Figure 4-18 Organizational Structure of GTF
It is the maintenance manager’s duty to coordinate the supervisors of the various fields
in case of maintenance. Furthermore, he/she must:
 Take over the role of Service manager in case of absence

 Support the GTF manager
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Maintenance Theory
 Assist the service manager with the planning of the operations on the plant
The field supervisors are employed for:
 Coordination of the maintenance in their own field (mechanical, electrical, etc.)

 Help the maintenance manager, listing necessary activities for the maintenance,
required tools and materials
 Perform the maintenance, unless specialized technicians are needed
 Record the data of the ODL (ordine di lavoro, namely the order of job) in the
CMMS
The process supervisor controls the operating parameters of the power plant and as a
result, he identifies areas where the degradation or malfunctioning occur; hence,
he/she suggests the best strategies to address the issues. His/her purpose is to make
the plant run with the best efficiency and improve its availability.
The security manager:
 Knows the main laws and norms inherent to the security and environment
 Prepares the documents requested by the norms
 Is involved in the training and updating of the staff
 Is the bridge with ASL, Ispesl, Arpa, etc.
 Supports the other managers
 Assist the Security manager of the client
The maintenance personnel comes from AEN/GTF, from the client and from
subcontractors. They work under the responsibility of the field supervisors.
The planner uses the information from the manufacturers and requests from the field
supervisors, in order to define the best maintenance program, avoiding unnecessary
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outages and optimizing the use of the available resources. He/she manages the CMMS
and processes concerned the quality control.
The secretary deals with all the technical documents and reports.
The material manager takes care of the spare parts in loco and at headquarters.
The engineering department in Genova can help the GTF on the plant in case of
necessary redesign or replacement of a component with a different one.
The planner writes the draft of the works to do for the following week, according to the
CMMS. The GTF manager along with the supervisors evaluates the draft, based on the
results of the inspections and the predictive analysis, as well as the state of the stock.
When the GTF manager has approved of the draft, the security supervisor for the
appropriate evaluations must check it.
The GTF and maintenance manager assign the priority to each work and select what
must be done first and what can be postponed. The latter is added by the planner to
the list of pending works.
Before the definitive plan, the client evaluates the draft and sends it back with the
necessary changes. The plan is ready to be delivered to AEN/GTF, the client and all
the field supervisors.
The supervisors print the ODL, which is the document stating which machine or part of
the plant is the object of maintenance, the reasons and the contents, the tools,
necessary spare parts, and security procedures. The ODL also contains the technical
information about the work that is to be performed (what must be done, who can do it,
etc.) and the final balance of working hours and materials employed.
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The supervisors ask the client the authorization for entry to the plant. This authorization
is very important because there must be only one company in charge of the plant,
therefore this document states who is responsible for the plant. A similar document is
filled when the maintenance period ends and the client is again responsible for the
plant.
The supervisors check the availability of the tools and the spare parts, supervise the
entire work, and compile the final balance and finally delivery the ODL to the planner
when the job is done. Hence, the CMMS can be updated and the planner can define a
new draft.
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Chapter 5
5. Hot Gas Path Inspection of GT
5.1 Introduction
The first HGPI on Calenia module 2 was carried out in 2010. ST MI, GT generator MI
and ST generator MO have been performed simultaneously.
In June 2015, the GT state was:
 Nr. Starts: 538

 Baseload hours: 44,868
 EOH: 52,564
Despite the scheduled MO, Calenia module 2 has undergone HGPI because the
current gas cost and energy price were convenient and the expectations for the
following year were not likewise profitable (see Figure 1-6). Chapter 1.2 shows the
purchase price trend of electricity, which is the main factor affecting maintenance
schedule. The reason of the schedule change is clarified in Figure 1-6, where the
energy price trend shows a positive increment with respect to the previous year.
The scheduled MO was postponed since it lasts approximately 50 days, where HGPI
lasts only 28-30.
Hot Gas Path Inspection of GT
Furthermore, the turbine blade replacement allowed extending the HGPI-MO interval,
which was 25 kEOH and now it is 33 kEOH.
The maintenance schedule has been updated and the next GT MO is planned in 2016
(55 kEOH) and in parallel, ST MO, GT generator MO and ST generator MI. The GT MO
will not require the turbine blades replacement, since this activity has already been
done during the HGPI in 2015.
After 33 kEOH, namely 88 kEOH, the last HGPI and MI of the other components must
be carried out.
The maintenance operation planning might start a couple of month or up to a year

before the scheduled beginning of maintenance, because the contracts with the
subcontractor must be stipulated in advance.
The first step is to write a statement of work (SOW), which is “the cornerstone to an
agreement because it sets expectations, deliverables, what’s acceptable, the price, the
pricing schedule” [31].
For this HGPI, two SOWs have been written, one for the GT and the other for the
generators. The user and maintenance manuals have been attached to these.
Work program is the combination of work packages and time and allows pinpointing
the critical path by means of CPM/PERT. These two tools are similar because both
require a list of the activities and their dependencies to calculate the critical path, i. e.
the longest path. The main difference is that PERT accounts the time variance, while
the CPM is a deterministic method that is used when the cost analysis must be done
as well. Nowadays those tools are implemented in many software and the one used for
this HGPI is MS Project, which highlights the critical path, the dependencies and the
slack all in one chart: the GANNT Chart.
162
With respect to the critical path, it is always possible to reduce it, e.g. adding a third
shift. Unfortunately, there are more reasons to avoid the third shift than to implement
it, so in the case study, the work program is organized for two shifts (generally 7 AM ÷
3 PM and 2 PM ÷ 10 PM). There must be an overlap in order to inform the coming
workers about what has been done and what must be done.
When the activities are stated, the responsibilities must be assigned and an
organizational chart can be drawn.
Prior the maintenance starts, all the tools are checked and the calibration must be
attested by a certified agency. Spare parts with the highest probability to be used are
sent to the storage, some of them come from other power plant storages or from the
headquarter. The bridge cranes are tested with an overload of roughly 10-20% their
maximum operating load.
The safety on the workplace must be assured and the Dlgs 81/2008 states the
procedures that must be followed to achieve the work safety. Firstly, CSP (Safety
coordinator during the project design phase, or coordinatore alla sicurezza in fase di
progettazione) is nominated and his duty is to write the safety plan, i. e. PSC (piano di
sicurezza e coordinamento, as named by the Italian law). However, during the
maintenance, the safety is taken under observation by the CSE (Safety coordinator
during the execution of works, or coordinator alla sicurezza in fase di esecuzione).
163
The CSE verifies the observances already established by the PSC and can also modify
it to better match the safety requirements of the site. Additionally, he reports
inobservances of the established rules regarding safety during a daily meeting with the
supervisors and can halt maintenance operations due to dangerous working conditions.
Figure 5-1 Principle of the phases array inspection of disk rim attachments with
double-probe (a) and UT data (b)[59]
The GANNT chart of the HGPI of Calenia module 2 summarizes all the operations
performed during this maintenance phase (see Annex A). HGPI started on the 1st of
June 2015 and it was completed at the end of the same month.
The activities are grouped in instrumental, mechanical, electrical and DCS for the HGPI
of module 2, as well as the ten-year maintenance of all pressure tanks, in particular, an
external firm was employed to check the state of all pressure tanks by means of NDT,
since NDT on pressure tanks require special tools and skilled technicians. The NDT of
the Phased Array (PA) L-0 of ST is the only inspection planned for the ST. The phase
array technology is a NDT (see Figure 5-1). L-0 is the last stage of turbine blades.
164
The L-0 is subject more than the others to wear, since the last stage of ST might operate
with steam and water droplets. The droplets hit the blades and they can fail because of
erosion and corrosion.
The next paragraph deals with the journal of activities related to the mechanical field
scheduled day by day.
5.2 Activity Journal
1st – 2nd June
The first step is the depressurization of the HRSG while the TG is being connected to
the jacking gear, which makes the GT operate at approximately 120 rpm. The
depressurization starts when the by-pass valve of the HP and IP are open, so that, the
steam ends up directly to the air condenser. However, a certain amount of steam is
required for keeping the vacuum inside the air condenser.
The previous conditions might be already present when the power plant has not been
running for a while and nowadays this happens quite often (also in the case study).
The natural gas flow is stopped by means of a line blind valve.
The jacking gear turns at 110-120 rpm, so the rotor can cool down without incurring in
any thermal distortion. The depressurization takes 2 days to be completed; on the other
hand, the jacking gear works only for the first day and in parallel, the operators can
start the disassembly of the instrumentation of the GT and the top of the cabin. The
following day, the scaffolding can be assembled around the cabin.
165
The calibration of the pneumatic valves and the disassembly/re-assembly of the safety
valves start within the first two days.
The second day, the jacking gear keeps the ST turning while the atmosphere pressure
is brought back at the outlet of the ST. The annual calibration of the instrumentation of
the BOP also starts on the second day.
3rd June
The third day starts with the de-insulation of the GT and an external company works
for more than two days to take the insulation out.
Simultaneously, the LP by-pass valve is checked and the NDT (Non-destructive

Testing) are performed on the blow-down valve of the LP drum.
The third day is also the beginning day for the air-intake filter substitution, which is
supposed to last 8 days.
4th – 5th June
HGPI starts indeed after three days of preliminary activities and the deadline is set after
23 days.
The 4th and the 5th June are the days for the revision of the motorized valves of the feed
pumps.
6th – 7th June
The revision of the IP by-pass is scheduled from the 6th to the 10th June.
Prior the inspection of the HRSG and the chimney could be performed, the inspection
doors must be open at least two days earlier. Thus, if we open the doors on the 6th, the
HRSG will be ready within the 8th June.
166
The NDT phased array on the L-0 of the ST starts on the 6th and it is supposed to finish
on the 15th of June. The first step is the assembly of the external scaffolding.
8th June
The activities starting on this day are:
 Extraction of the air from the GT cabin

 Revision of attemperators on the HP by-pass and the stop valve of the level on
the HP drum
 Test and calibration of the safety valves
 Cleaning of the level marker on the LP drum
 Test and NDT on the blow down valve of the HP drum
 Internal inspection of the HRSG and the chimney
 Opening of the man hole on the LP, IP and HP drums
 Substitution of the HRSG bellows
 Assembly of the scaffolding around the reservoirs
 Opening of the man hole at the outlet of the ST and then the assembly of the
internal scaffolding
9th – 10th June
The calibration of the pneumatic valves starts on the 10th and ends on the 18th June.
Vibrational sensor must be substituted on the LP of the ST and the revision of the HP
bypass and of the regulating valve on the HP drum must be done.
Since the HP, IP and LP drums are ready, they can be inspected in two or three days.
The operators can enter the reservoirs through the manhole.
167
Finally, the 10th is the day for the beginning of the preliminary operations on the
reservoirs, in view of their inspection and NDT, scheduled after five days.
Regarding the NDT of the L-0, it is time to start it.
11th – 12th June
The 11th is the last day for the inspection of the drum, in particular, in this day the LP
drum must be checked, so that, the following day, the deaerator can be revised and
great care must be taken of the nozzles because they are subject to wear, more than
other parts of this system.
If there are damaged blades of the last stage of the ST, they will be replaced and then
the internal scaffolding can be dismantled.
From 13th to 15th June
From the 13th, no activity starts until the 15th when the disassembly of the ST
instrumentation is performed and everything is re-assembled in the same day.
A third accelerometer is then placed inside the GT.
The sound-insulation box of the extraction pump for the condensate is taken apart in
order to perform the maintenance of the pump for the following 4 days.
If the reservoirs are ready, they will undergo the NDT for the next five days.
The ST outlet is ready to be closed after the blade replacement and at the end, the
scaffolding can be dismantled.
16th – 17th June
168
On the GT, there are four bearings, two for the generator and two for the
compressor/turbine. Based on the maintenance book, the last bearing, the one at the
outlet of the turbine, requires an inspection and specifically the lubricant system on the
drain side.
Moreover, in two days, the pumps that operate on the drainage system must be
checked and the Delphin system8 must be set-up.
18th – 19th June
The sound insulation box of the redundant extraction pump for the condensate is taken
apart in order to perform the maintenance of the pump for the following 4 days.
The 18th and 19th is time to substitute the calibrated orifice of the two feed pumps.
After 11 days the reservoirs have been experienced a complete inspection and NDT
and the restoration to the operating state can start.
LVDT Calibration stands for linear variable displacement transducer calibration and
actuators of the ST valves will undergo this process.
There is a closed loop for the cooling of many auxiliary devices and the pump operating
in this loop is maintained in two days from the 23rd and the 24th June.
The interception valves for the HP drum are inspected and substituted if it is required.
The 23rd of June is the last day of the ten-year activities for the pressure tanks and in
this day, the scaffolding is disassembled.
8 The Delphin system is a vibration measurement technology
169
25th – 26th June
The activities planned for the 25th are:
 Calibration of the compressor DP (differential pressure)

 Maintenance of the redundant pump of the closed loop
For the 26th the scheduled activities are:
 ST starts turning by means of the jacking gear

 LVDT Calibration of the GT valves
 Testing the Turbine Supervisory Instrumentation (TSI) and the Zero Speed
Switch on the ST
 Re-assembly of the GT instrumentation
The calibration of the differential pressure of the compressor is a very important

parameter because the inlet filter differential pressure is monitored and used to alarm,
shutdown or even trip a unit [32]. “Trip” or “Scram” is the automatic shutdown when a
key operating parameter, such as coolant temperature, vibrations of the bearing,
exceeds the acceptable limits [33].
When the DP is over the range, it means that the filters are clogged and this brings the
reduction of the power output, since the airflow is limited, and also the more deleterious
rupture of the filters. In this case, the debris of the filters and the materials once webbed
in the filters would hit the blades of the compressor.
TSI provide continuous on-line monitoring and the machine protection for the GT and
ST generator sets. The TSI system measures a variety of supervisory parameters to
provide operations reliable machine condition information and alert them to any
machinery problems [34].
170
The Zero Speed Switch (ZSS) also known as Speed Actuating Sensing Switch is used
to detect the stoppage or unacceptably slow movement of the rotating shaft.
The maintenance is almost done and the last operations are:
 Testing the Turbine Supervisory Instrumentation (TSI) of the Stand the Zero
Speed Switch on the GT
 GT Instrumentation control after the re-assembly (flame detector, outlet
temperature, blow-off)
On the 29th June, the module is ready for the start.
171
5.3 Findings and Corrective Actions
The following table summarizes the findings and the suggested corrective actions,
highlighting which have already been taken and which have been planned for next
maintenance.
Findings Corrective Actions Page
Oil leak from the air intake Tightening check 174

section
Oily sediment on the IGV Manual cleaning and 175

blades and erosion of the inlet Monitoring in the next
edge of the IGV blades inspection
Wear of the rail for the IGV Restoration in the next MO 176
guide ring
Fluid hammer and wear at the Coupling substitution 177

coupling between the turbine
blades carrier and the housing
of the combustion chamber
172
Brushing, fluid hammer and Element replacement 178

wear of 1st turbine stage (seal
ring and blade root)
Abrasion of TBC, coating Element replacement 180

superheating and erosion of
the stationary blades (1st, 2nd
and 3rd stage).
Dimensional out of tolerance Element replacement 181

of the sealing ring for the
turbine bearing
Abrasion of TBC and brushing Element replacement 182

on the tip blade (moving stage
1-2-3)
Small damage on a blade of Monitoring in the next MO 184

the 4th moving stage
Cracks on welding of the outlet Welding restoration 185

housing
Cracks on the swirlers of the Monitoring in the next MO 185

burners
Cracks on thermal tiles Element replacement 186
173
Wear of the journal box and Journal box replacement 186

the protection tube for the and restoring of the tube
peak (flame control)
Table 5-1 Findings and Corrective Actions
Figure 5-2 Oil leak below the intermediate shaft between the air intake and the
Generator Cabin
Oil leak from the air intake section
An oil leak has been found near the outlet pipe of the compressor bearing oil. The oil
covered the floor below the intermediate shaft (Figure 5-2) and other traces were found
on the bolts of the jacking gear case (Figure 5-3).
174
Figure 5-3 Oil leak on the jacking gear Cabin
To cope this problem, bolt tightening on the external casing of the jacking gear has
been checked and a
particular attention has
been paid when the rotor
turns by means of jacking
gear.
Oily sediment on the IGV

blades and erosion of the
inlet edge of the IGV
blades
Figure 5-4 depicts the IGV

blades and the first stage
Figure 5-4 Sediment and erosion on IGV blade edge compressor blades,
175
highlighting the erosion on inlet edge and the deposit on blades, both IGV and first
stages compressor. The erosion was below the limit with respect to the EOH.
Wear of the rail for the IGV

guide ring
After the last inspection, the

rail wear has not changed a
lot, so the corrective actions
are postponed until the next
MO. The lower part has worn
down more than the upper
Figure 5-5 Wear due to thrust roller and the guide ring is
even more worn down
along the way the thrust
rollers work (see Figure
5-5).
Figure 5-6 shows the

state of guide ring in B
position (see Figure
Figure 5-6 Wear on the guide ring 5-7).
176
Figure 5-7 Worn point on the guide ring
Fluid hammer and wear at

the coupling between the
turbine blades carrier and
the housing of the
combustion chamber
Due to fluid hammer, the

hollow to join the turbine
blade carrier and the
combustion chamber
housing is larger than the
acceptable value.
Figure 5-8 Coupling area between turbine blade The section of interest is
carrier and the combustion chamber housing depicted in Figure 5-8 and
177
because of the short

maintenance period, a
temporary solution has been
adopted: short welding line on
the most eroded areas. For the
next MO, the entire housing is
sent to Ansaldo Energia
Laboratories, where it will be
inspected, welded, lathed and
polished.
Figure 5-9 shows the initial

state of the hammered area,
Figure 5-9 Fluid hammer on the hollow
whereas, Figure 5-10 depicts
the welded line.
Figure 5-10 Welded line as a temporary solution
Brushing, fluid hammer and wear of 1st turbine stage (sealing ring and blade root)
Fluid hammer is one of the main reasons of erosion in a GT and the first stationary
stage shows the effects.
178
Figure 5-11 and Figure 5-12 show the effect of fluid hammer on the ring employed to
fasten the blades (see Figure 5-13 to better visualize how the sealing ring works).
Figure 5-11 Detail of fluid hammer on a sealing ring
Figure 5-12 Sealing ring of the first stationary stage
Figure 5-13 depicts also result after the ring and blades replacement.
The erosion is present not only on the sealing ring, but also on the blade root, as shown
in Figure 5-14.
179
Abrasion of TBC, coating

superheating and erosion
of the stationary blades
(1st, 2nd and 3rd stage).
TBC stands for the

thermal blade coatings
and its life is shorter on
the first stage blades
because the hottest
gases hit them, so they
work at the highest
temperature of the
Figure 5-13 After sealing ring replacement
cycle.
The diagnosis is very

simply for the first three
stationary stages that have
been replaced as already stated
in the maintenance schedule.
The blade color shows the lack
of coating and the first stage is
the most damaged one as I
have already explained.
Figure 5-15 and Figure 5-16

show the difference between a
new and an old set of blades, in
particular the photos are of the
first stationary stage, which are
Figure 5-14 Effect of fluid hammer on blade roots
always replaced during an
180
HGPI and then some will be

restored and re-used, while
the most damaged cannot
be recover
Dimensional out of
tolerance of the sealing ring
for the turbine bearing
in order to keep the

pressure required by the
bearing, the sealing has to
work properly, tolerance
Figure 5-15 First stationary stage before maintenance
must be very
tight. There was a
clear sign of an
incorrect sealing
(crystallised oil
outside the
bearing housing
of the turbine,
see Figure 5-17).
Furthermore,
there were oily
traces along the
lubricant pipe as
well (see Figure
Figure 5-16 First stationary stage after being replaced
5-18).
The first step was to clean the area in order to verify the condition on the external casing
and on the pipe. The sealing has been replaced with a new one (Figure 5-19).
181
Other activities have been

planned for the next MO
Abrasion of TBC and

brushing on the tip blade
(moving stage 1-2-3)
Moving stage blades of the

turbine are always replaced
during a HGPI with new or
restoed blades. Due to the
abrasion of TBC, the
erosion and the brushing of
Figure 5-17 Crystallized oil outside the turbine bearing
tip blades, the blades must casing
be replaced, but usually they
can be re-used after the
restoration.
The state of the turbine rotor

blades justify the
replacement (see Figure
5-20).
Figure 5-18 Oily traces on the inlet lubricant tube of

the GT bearing
182
Figure 5-21 is the rotor after the replacement of the first three stages.
Figure 5-19 Sealing ring on the turbine bearing casing
Figure 5-20 Turbine rotor blades before maintenance
183
Figure 5-21 New turbine rotor blades
Figure 5-22 Crack locations on the external housing of the GT

bearing
Small damage on a blade of the 4th moving stage

184
By means of dye penetrant inspection, a small crack of 2 mm has been found on the
blade root. However, no replacement is required, but the blade will be analyzed again
in the next MO.
Cracks on welding of the outlet housing
On the outlet housing of the GT bearing, some cracks have been found, but due to the
small size, the restoring operation has been planned for the next maintenance
Figure 5-23 Cracks on the burner edge
operation (see Figure 5-22)
Cracks on the swirlers of the burners
The inspection of the combustion chamber has showed damaged burners, in particular
the burner edge as depicted on Figure 5-23. Burners are also damaged at the
contacting area with the ceramic tiles, where the high temperature has caused cracks
and superheating damages (see Figure 5-24). The burners can work properly despite
185
the damages. However, they

must be monitored and most
likely replaced during the
following MO.
Cracks on thermal tiles
Tiles are always in contact

with the hot gases and
although the high resistant
coating, they must be
Figure 5-24 Burners/ceramic tiles damages
replaced quite often. Therefore,
what has been found during this

HGPI is completely normal and the
replacement is a routine operation.
Figure 5-25 is one of some

crack/erosion damage of ceramic
tiles. They all must be replaced.
Wear of the journal box and the

protection tube for the peak (flame
control)
Wear is caused by the temperature

but in particular by the fluid
hammer. The corrective action is to
Figure 5-25 Crack and erosion on a ceramic
weld the worn area and to replace the tile
journal box
186
5.4 Post maintenance phase
Post-maintenance phase is a critical stage because many operating parameters must

be monitored in order to identify in advance any malfunctioning or anomaly.
Prior the machine can be considered ready for the grid parallel, the tuning is performed
and the most important parameters are:
 Turbine Outlet Temperature (TOT)

 Temperature and vibrations of the bearings on the GT
 NOx, CO emissions
These are only a small amount of the parameters that can indicate an improper mode
of operation of the plant. Therefore, I am going to show what Calenia power plant has
experienced during the post-maintenance phase, highlighting the parameters gone out
of the admissible range, causing outage of the power plant.
TOT, sometimes referred to as EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature), is the temperature of

the turbine exhaust gases as they leave the turbine unit. The gas temperature is
measured by a number of thermocouples mounted in the exhaust stream [35].
Temperature and pressure are the most important thermodynamic parameters and the
efficiency of the cycle relies largely on these. Indeed, the temperature is limited by the
strength of the materials and, since the GT experiences the maximum temperatures
inside the combustion chamber, we should pay attention to those temperatures.
187
Unfortunately, there are many factors that do not allow us measuring directly these
temperatures; therefore, TOT is used to evaluate the temperatures inside the
combustion chamber.
Figure 5-26 Turbine Outlet Temperature
Figure 5-26 has been taken from the monitoring system and it shows clearly the
position of the thermocouples and the typical outlet temperatures. There are 24
measuring spots with 3 thermocouples per spot. The number of spots corresponds to
the number of burners and the temperatures measured are related to the temperature
near certain burners.
An important parameter is the TETC (Turbine Exit Temperature Corrected), which is

the average temperature of six measures, but it is corrected in order to take into account
compressor inlet temperature and the turbine speed.
188
There are three set points:
 Base load (full load)

 Reduced set point for the needs of the steam (TSMAX)
 Reduced set point for the HRSG purging9 (TSX)
The first set point is active during the normal operation. At the start, the IGV are closed
and the TETC rises along with the rising of the load; when the GT reaches
approximately 50% of the load, the TETC is almost equal to the first set point. The
control system acts on the IGV, making them open more in order to regulate the TETC
and when the IGV are 100% open, the temperature adjustment can be achieved limiting
the fuel.
The TSMAX operates on the IGV and the amount of fuel to reduce the maximum
temperature of the cycle. Whereas, the TSX can only modify the fuel supply when the
IGV are closed, when generally the first set point is not used.
The TETC is of relevant importance for two reasons: the strength of the material,
especially the first turbine stage, and then the thermal stresses inside the HRSG.
Beside TETC, the vibrations and temperature of the bearings are crucial parameters,
because they can denote an incorrect assembly or a problem in the lubricant system.
If the problem persists, the rotor will be damaged.
In 4.6.2 I have already mentioned the vibrations monitoring.
9 Purging is the cleaning of the HRSG to prevent possible explosion during the start
189
The following chapters describe the problems experienced during the post-
maintenance phase and explain what has been done to solve them.
5.4.1 Natural Gas Leakage
The first start after the HGPI was on the 29th of June. Figure 5-27 shows the trip
occurred in that date because gas was detected inside the GT hall.
As the startup prescribed, there was a first phase of HRSG purge and during the
acceleration, after the firing, the GT underwent a trip due to a leak of gas. The control
Figure 5-27 Trip due to gas detection inside the GT hall
190
system measured an unexpected amount of gas inside the GT hall and it stopped the
turbine.
Gas supply pipework to the turbine is highly complex with multiple joints and
connections, and operates at gas pressure of up to 40 bar. A typical unit may include
over 200 flanges, 90 flexible hoses, 18 valves and 8 bellows all-operating at 20 to 30
bar. Therefore there is the potential for gas leaks [36].
The energy market forces the producer to reduce the duration of the maintenance and
the following period of tuning. If we had enough time, we could approach thoroughly to
this problem in a theoretical way and check all devices that can cause a leak. However,
we must rely more on our experience on Ansaldo V94.3 A2 GT and reduce the amount
of devices to investigate.
So far, the typical reasons of leaks are the flexible hoses and the flanges: the formers
might have cracks, due to the disassembly and re-assembly during the HGPI; the latter
are caused by an incorrect tightening.
After the trip, the cabin can be inspected, because the gas is expelled thanks to the
ventilation system. Furthermore, the main issue of the gas leak is the fuel cost, rather
than the safety. Indeed, the gas leak contributes to increase the greenhouse effect and
it must thus be solved.
The visual inspection is highly time-consuming. Thus, a portable gas detector is used
to find the leak. However, if the problem is the incorrect flange tightening, there will be
also a typical noise and this trick reduces the time of the inspection.
After inspection, the portable device detected some leaks through the flexible hoses
and they were replaced with new ones. It came out, indeed, that this is a common
problem with this type of GT; a past event occurred in Rizziconi at Rizziconi Energia
Spa power plant, where Ansaldo had installed two V94.3 A2 GTs and it has in charge
191
for the GTF. During the last HGPI carried out in Rizziconi, 48 flexile hoses were
replaced, after the gas leak detection.
5.4.2 Vibrations over the

range measured at the
exhaust-end bearing
Vibrations reasons (w.r.t gas

turbines) [37]
1. Lube oil film failure

2. Low oil header temperature
Figure 5-28 Eddy Current Probe
Installation[38] 3. Shaft misalignment
4. Water in oil
5. Startup without sufficient
ratcheting
6. Sudden change in combustion dynamics
7. Abnormal closure of bleed air valves
8. IGV Blade or compressor blade shear and carryover in gas stream
9. Rotor unbalance
10. Wear of load gear teeth
11. Faulty measuring device(pickup or cable problem)
Unbalance is the usual cause of high vibration. This can be caused due to rotor bow
because cooling down was not homogeneous, and/or because of damaged blades and
buckets, and/or deposits embedded on the axial compressor of the GT. 98% of the time
on GE Industrial Gas Turbines the cause of higher than normal vibration levels is
192
Figure 5-29 Vibrations on the turbine side
imbalance or misalignment. Imbalance can be caused by foreign object damage (FOD),

internal object damage (IOD), erosion, corrosion, etc. Misalignment is self-explanatory.
It is known that vibration consequences can be classified as [38]:
 Structural fracture due to fatigue or dynamic overload

 Wear, fretting, or surface fatigue of bearings, gears, couplings, etc.
 Performance loss due to internal machine clearance rubs (seals, blades,
impellers)
There are many vibration transducers (eddy current, velocity pick-ups, accelerometers,
dual probes, etc.) but the one employed on this GT uses eddy current to measure the
relative vibrations and the installation is showed in Figure 5-28.
193
The vibration transducer is the TQ 400 Vibro-Meter’s proximity measuring system and
it uses a non-contacting measurement technique based on eddy current effect to
measure the distance between a moving (vibrating) object and a proximity transducer
[39].
Figure 5-30 Vibrations on the Compressor
Figure 5-29 and Figure 5-30 depict the vibration trend on compressor and turbine
bearings that led the power plant to a TRIP. As the rotor speed increases, absolute and
relative vibrations rises as well. Relative vibrations is measure w.r.t. the housing, that
is, the housing is considered the reference system where transducers are installed,
whereas absolute vibrations take into account the housing displacement. Therefore,
absolute vibrations are measured w.r.t. the free space and it is evaluated by measuring
also the housing vibrations.
194
Said that, absolute vibrations are zero when the GT is still and during the purge
because rotor speed is under 840 rpm. After purge, relative and absolute vibrations
rise, but when relative vibrations reach or exceed 9 mm/s, the GT is stopped by the
control system.
Specialized personnel, adding an appropriate weigh distributed around the shaft where
holes had been manufactured for this purpose from the factory, have solved the issue.
5.5 Performance Analysis
The main scope of maintenance is to keep the system in an optimal condition in order
to avoid any sort of malfunctioning. In the previous chapters, I have showed the most
useful parameters to check the status of the system after maintenance. This chapter
has the aim to investigate the performance of the GT before and after the HGPI,
keeping in mind the different month (April and September), which means different
temperature and humidity, two factors that affect the GT performance.
The main influencing parameters (neglecting the effect of fuel composition, which is
assumed the same before and after maintenance) are [40]:
 Ambient Pressure
 Ambient Temperature
 Humidity
The ambient temperature influence is well known and understood in the literature,
where many studies have demonstrated how the temperature affects power output and
efficiency. However, ambient temperature and humidity are strongly related and they
should not be considered individually.
195
As far as the first consideration is concerned, a GT works generally at constant speed

allowing the flow to reach the sonic condition. Thus, the volumetric flow rate is constant.
Because of the combustion chamber, located between the compressor and the turbine,
the volumetric flow rate in the compressor differs from the one in the turbine (after the
combustion chamber, the flow composition has changed). The volumetric flow rate in
the compressor can be expressed as (all terms are evaluated at the compressor inlet):
𝑚̇𝐶 𝑇1
𝑉̇𝐶 = = 𝑚̇𝐶 𝑣1 = 𝑚̇𝐶 𝑅𝐶 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡
𝜌𝐶 𝑝1
Where:
𝑚̇𝐶 is the mass flow rate of the air [kg/s]
𝜌𝐶 is the air density [kg/m3]
𝑣1 is the air specific volume [m3/kg]
𝑅𝐶 is the specific gas constant [J/kg*K]
𝑇1 is the inlet air temperature [K]
𝑝1 is the inlet air pressure [Pa]
The same equation can be written for the turbine side.
196
5.5.1 Ambient Pressure Influence
Since 𝑉̇𝐶 is constant, if 𝑝1 decreases and 𝑇1 does not change, 𝑚̇𝐶 will decrease.
Considering negligible the amount of fuel, 𝑚̇𝐶 ≅ 𝑚̇ 𝑇 (this is reasonable since AFR is
Figure 5-31 T-s diagram in case of ambient pressure variation (decrease of ambient
pressure)
usually 40 up to 50 for GT [41], while the stoichiometric value is 17.2), namely, the
mass flow rate that evolves inside the compressor is the same inside the turbine. This
means that also 𝑝3 will be lower and 𝑇3 will not change (see Figure 5-31, where the
red-line cycle is the one with a reduced ambient pressure). Efficiency will theoretically
not change because the pressure ratio is the same and TIT (which is 𝑇3 in the figures)
has not changed. However, the power output must decrease, since the mass flow rate
has been reduced.
197
Figure 5-32 p-V diagram in case of ambient pressure variation (decrease of ambient
pressure)
The cycle will change and Figure 5-31 and Figure 5-32 show how it becomes. The T-s
diagram depicts a decrease of pressure (red curve), while the black one is a cycle under
ISO condition. It is clear that the diagram shifts to the right where point 1 is on a lower
isobaric line, but at the same temperature. In addition, point 2, 3 and 4 have lower
𝑝 𝑝
pressure, but their ratio (𝑝2 = 𝑝2′) is the same.
1 1′
p-V diagram underlines again the right shift of the cycle when the ambient pressure
goes down. Point 6 and 7 lie on the same isothermal of point 2 and 3, as well as point
5 is on the same isothermal of point 1. Therefore, efficiency will not change if the
ambient pressure changes
Although there can be little increment or reduction of ambient pressure, this parameter
is useful in the design phase, where we must take into account the elevation of the site
where the power plant is supposed to be built.
198
5.5.2 Ambient Temperature Influence
When the ambient temperature changes, efficiency and power output will be affected.
In particular, if the ambient temperature rises, the mass flow rate will decrease,
because the volumetric flow rate is fixed. The control system of a GT makes the turbine
work with a constant TIT and, since we can assume the mass flow rate inside the
compressor and inside the turbine almost the same (neglecting the fuel added in the
combustion chamber, namely 𝑚̇𝐶 ≅ 𝑚̇ 𝑇 ), the inlet turbine pressure will decrease:
𝑇1
𝑉̇𝐶 = 𝑚̇𝐶 𝑅𝐶 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡
𝑝1
Figure 5-33 p-V diagram in case of ambient temperature variation (increase of

ambient temperature)
199
𝑇3
𝑉̇𝑇 = 𝑚̇ 𝑇 𝑅𝑇 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡
𝑝3
It is worth considering that at a constant speed, GT will see a constant head (because
the head stays roughly constant for a constant compressor speed), and thus a reduced
pressure ratio. Because the compressor requires a larger portion of the turbine power,
Figure 5-34 T-s diagram in case of ambient temperature variation (increase of

ambient temperature)
the power output is reduced [42].
Figure 5-33 and Figure 5-34 summarize cycle variations. Both in case of ambient
temperature rise.
The efficiency is affected since the compression ratio changes and, in case of higher
ambient temperature, the outlet turbine temperature (𝑇4 ) will be also higher because of
the reduced compression ratio (𝑇3 is fixed).
200
𝑇3′′ In Figure 5-34 is the TIT when the rate of Heat (𝑄̇𝐺𝑇 ) supplied in the combustion
chamber is kept the same. Hence, the TIT will be higher and the outlet turbine
temperature too. Due to material resistance constraint, keeping the rate of heat
constant is not feasible, because the TIT is fixed in order to avoid damaging blades.
The GT efficiency is temperature-sensitive and this is even broader when 𝑇3 is kept
constant.
The ambient temperature has a broad influence on the performance and the use of a
Figure 5-35 Ambient temperature Power Correction Factor Curve[44]
cooling system for the inlet air can be reasonable, but the installation costs and the
operating cost of such system must be kept in mind.
Several authors have reported the ambient temperature influence and they have
investigated in order to quantify it. De Sa and Al Zubaidy [43] have reported that for
every K rise in ambient temperature above ISO condition the GT loses 0.1% in terms
201
of thermal efficiency and 0.006% of its Gross Power Output. Petchers [44] has found a
reduction of power output of nearly 0.9% for every 1°C increment the power correction
factor curve is drawn in Figure 5-35. Tiwari et al [45] have developed a CCGT model
that points out an efficiency reduction between 0.03% and 0.07% for every °C rise in
ambient temperature.
5.5.3 Humidity Influence
H2O has an atomic mass smaller than N2 and O2. Due to that reason when the humidity
rises, the density of humid air will reduce. The consequence of lower air density is the
reduction of air mass flow rate. Thus, the performance of GT is lower [40] almost in the
same way the variation of temperature affects the performance (pressure ratio for a
given head and speed will go down). However, since during warmer weather, the intake
air for the turbine is less dense, injecting water or steam in the inlet increases the mass,
resulting in a more efficient compressor, which results in greater power output [46].
Water is used for cooling the combustion zone temperatures in order to lower NOx
emissions; however, attention must be paid in order not to reduce too much the
efficiency, since cooling reduces the highest temperature of the cycle. Therefore,
humidity measurement and control play a fundamental role because the amount of
injected water depends on the moisture content of the air, which is evaluated from the
dew point temperature. Dew point temperature is the temperature to which air must be
cooled to reach saturation.
There is also another effect to take into account: the specific heat of the exhaust gas
will increase with increased amounts of water vapor (refers to thermodynamic
202
parameters for exhaust gases). Therefore, the turbine can create more power under
otherwise the same conditions [42].
Humidity affects also the compressor Mach number that depends on its speed, ambient
temperature and relative humidity. Mach number for the turbine is also influenced by
speed, firing temperature and the exhaust gas composition (thus, the load, the fuel and
the relative humidity) [42]. It is worth noting that speed and firing temperature are
monitored and they are usually fixed (speed = 3000 rpm and T3 must be kept constant).
For a GT at full load, constant speed and constant TIT, two effects counteract each
other:
 Increasing relative humidity decreases air mass flow rate which will decrease
the power output
 Increasing relative humidity increases the specific heat to offset the loss of air
flow
Whether the GT gains or loses power with relative humidity depends on the particular
GT design [42].
The amount of moisture can vary because of the ambient humidity or because of the
steam/water injection, used to reduce the NOx emissions.
Wet-air density can be evaluated with the following equation [47]:
𝑇0 𝑝 0.622(1 + 𝑥)
𝜌ℎ𝑎 = 𝜌0
𝑇 𝑝0 0.622 + 𝑥
Where:
𝑘𝑔
𝜌0 [𝑚3 ] is the air density at 𝑇0 and 𝑝0
203
𝑇0 [K] is the ISO temperature (15°C) [48]
𝑝0 [Pa] is the ISO pressure (1 bar) [48]
𝑝 [Pa] is the ambient pressure
𝑇 [K] is the ambient temperature
𝑘𝑔
𝑥 [𝑘𝑔𝑣 ] is the specific humidity
𝑎
As already mentioned, temperature and humidity are deeply related. Thus, the
following analysis considers both.
Since sensors measure the relative humidity, I must convert it into specific humidity in
order to use the previous equation. Here how to convert it [47]:
𝐴∙𝑡
0.62198𝜑𝑒 𝐵+𝑡+𝐶
𝑥= 𝐴∙𝑡 (5. 1)
𝑝 − 𝜑𝑒 𝐵+𝑡+𝐶
Where:
𝜑 is the relative humidity
𝐴 is 17.438
𝐵 is 239.78
𝐶 is 6.4147
𝑡 is the temperature in °C
Humidity influences the heat capacity ratio (also called isentropic expansion factor) and
often denoted as “k”:
204
𝑐𝑃
𝑘=
𝑐𝑉
Where:
𝑘𝐽
𝑐𝑃 [𝑘𝑔 𝐾] is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure
𝑘𝐽
𝑐𝑉 [𝑘𝑔 𝐾] is the specific heat capacity at constant volume
Gas turbine efficiency (ideal cycle) is influenced by pressure ratio and heat capacity
ratio, therefore humidity affects GT efficiency by means of both.
𝑘 changes because of humidity and temperature, but even when the temperature
changes a lot, the effects on 𝑘 are neglegible (see Table 5-2).
On the other hand, humidity affects k and it can be shown considering the enthalpy of
humid air:
ℎℎ𝑎 = ℎ𝑎 + ℎ𝑣 = (𝑐𝑝 )𝑎 𝑡 + 𝑥 (𝑟 + (𝑐𝑝 )𝑣 𝑡)
Where:
ℎ𝑎 = dry air enthalpy [kJ/kg]
ℎ𝑣 = water vapor enthalpy [kJ/kg]
(𝑐𝑝 )𝑎 = air specific heat capacity at constant pressure
(𝑐𝑝 )𝑣 = water vapor specific heat capacity at constant pressure
𝑟 = latent heat vaporization [kJ/kg]
𝑥 = specific humidity
205
𝑡 is expressed in °C
Temperature [K] k
250 1.401
300 1.400
350 1.398
400 1.395
450 1.391
Table 5-2 Temperature influence on k in case of dry air [49]
Having said that, in order to find the humid air heat capacity at constant pressure we
can write:
(𝑐𝑝 )𝑎 𝑡 + 𝑥 (𝑟 + (𝑐𝑝 )𝑣 𝑡)
(𝑐𝑝 )ℎ𝑎 =
𝑡
(𝑐𝑝 )𝑎 = 1.006 kJ/kg°C
(𝑐𝑝 )𝑣 = 1.875 kJ/kg°C
𝑟 = 2.501 kJ/kg
206
𝑥 has been already expressed at page 204
Finally, we can evaluate (𝑐𝑝 )ℎ𝑎 by means of the following equation, where everything
is given or measured by the monitoring system:
𝐴∙𝑡
0.62198𝜑𝑒 𝐵+𝑡+𝐶
1.006𝑡 + 𝑥 𝐴∙𝑡 (2.501 + 1.875𝑡)
𝑝 − 𝜑𝑒 𝐵+𝑡+𝐶
(𝑐𝑝 )ℎ𝑎 =
𝑡
The specific heat capacity at constant volume is obtainable from the following equation:
(𝑐𝑣 )ℎ𝑎 = (𝑐𝑝 )ℎ𝑎 − 𝑅ℎ𝑎
and
𝑅ℎ𝑎 = 𝑅𝑎 + 𝑥(𝑅𝑣 − 𝑅𝑎 )
Where
𝑅 is the specific gas constant, which is:
𝑅𝑎 = 0.287 kJ/kg*K (specific gas constant of air)
𝑅𝑣 = 0.4615 kJ/kg*K (specific gas constant of water vapor)
Hence:
𝑅ℎ𝑎 = 0.287 + 𝑥(0.1745)
Finally, k can be evaluated:
207
1
𝑘=
0.287 + 𝑥(0.1745)
1−
1.006𝑡 + 𝑥(2.501 + 1.875𝑡)
𝑡
k is, therefore, influenced by temperature and humidity.
Figure 5-36 shows the trend of heat capacity ratio for three typical values of ambient
temperature. As soon as the relative humidity rises, k reduces almost exponentially.
The temperature has the effect of shifting the curves downwards as it rises.
Figure 5-36 φ-k diagram for three typical ambient temperature values
Heat capacity ratio appear in the efficiency of the Brayton-GT cycle:
208
1
𝜂𝑖𝑑 = 1 − (𝑘−1)
𝑟𝑝 𝑘
Although humidity and temperature also affect the pressure ratio, these effects have
been neglected in the first analysis, which has ended up with Figure 5-37, where the
efficiency has roughly the same trend of the heat capacity ratio and it decreases
exponentially. Pressure ratio is constant and its value is 16, like the one of the current
GT.
Figure 5-37 φ-η diagram for three typical ambient temperature values (compression
ratio =16)
The diagram explains clearly that the higher the temperature is, the steeper the curve
will be. Therefore, a GT operating in a warm place and with high humidity, has an
efficiency much lower than a GT installed in a cool and dry region.
209
Humidity and temperature make wet air density change and this is the main reason of
the pressure ratio variation. The following equations are valid and can be used in order
to show how the pressure ratio changes:
𝑚̇𝐶
𝑉̇𝐶 = = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡
𝜌𝑤𝑎
𝑇3
𝑉̇𝑇 = 𝑚̇ 𝑇 𝑅𝑇 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡
𝑝3
Further considerations:
 𝑝2 = 𝑝3 (this is not true in the real cycle, because the combustion is a source of
pressure drop)
 𝑇3 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡 (this is a parameter fixed during the design phase and the control
system has the aim to keep it within a small range around the nominal value)
 𝑚̇𝐶 ≅ 𝑚̇ 𝑇 since the mass flow rate of fuel is negligible w.r.t. the mass flow rate
of air
Having said that, when air density changes, the mass flow rate of air will change in
order to keep the volume flow rate constant. On the turbine side, temperature is fixed
and if the mass flow rate varies, the pressure at the inlet GT must change accordingly
in order to keep the volume flow rate constant. Since we have assumed that 𝑝2 = 𝑝3 ,
so the pressure ratio will change as well.
The relation between humid air density and relative humidity and temperature has
already been written and Figure 5-38 shows a linear trend of the density.
210
Figure 5-38 φ-ρ diagram for three typical ambient temperature values
It is worth noting that when the temperature is higher, density will be lower and the
curve will be steeper.
𝜂 = −0.0072𝜑 + 0.547 𝑡 = 20°𝐶
𝜂 = −0.0095𝜑 + 0.547 𝑡 = 25°𝐶
𝜂 = −0.0126𝜑 + 0.547 𝑡 = 30°𝐶
They are useful in the next paragraph, where they are employed to compare
performance in difference ambient conditions.
211
However, many other authors have focused their researches on the impact humidity
has on the combustion. For example Martinez et al. [50] have proposed an expression
for the efficiency involving five parameters:
 Work output (or power output)

 Turbine inlet temperature
 Compressor inlet temperature
 Pressure ratio
 Excess air
Indeed, the excess air is strongly dependent on the turbine inlet temperature, since it
changes accordingly because TIT must be kept constant. Martinez et al. [50] have also
showed how the excess air varies in order to keep a TIT of 1243°C. Increasing the
relative humidity to a determined ambient temperature value, the excess air will
decrease; however, the excess air variation as function of relative humidity variation,
increase as the ambient temperature increases.
5.5.4 Analysis on an Ansaldo V94.3 A2 Gas Turbine
Since the influence of pressure, temperature and humidity on the performance has
been clarified, analysis of the current GT can be done.
The ambient temperature trend in April 27 is depicted in Figure 5-39 and the relative
humidity trend in Figure 5-40.
212
Temperature on 27/Apr/2015
32
28
Temperature [°C]
24
20
16
12
8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hour
Figure 5-39 Ambient Temperature trend in April 27/2015
Relative humidity on 27/Apr/2015

100
Relative Humidity [%]
90
80
70
60
50
40
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hour
Figure 5-40 Relative Humidity trend on April 27/2015
They show typical shapes with the highest values of temperature around 1-2 pm,
simultaneously the relative humidity reaches its lowest peak around 2 pm.
213
Relative humidity on 2/Sep/2015

Relative Humidity [%] 100
90
80
70
60
50
40
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hour
Figure 5-41 Ambient Temperature trend in September 2/2015
Temperature on 2/Sep/2015
32
28
Temperature [°C]
24
20
16
12
8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hour
Figure 5-42 Relative Humidity trend on September 2/2015
Same trends are also evident in September (see Figure 5-41 and Figure 5-42)
In September 2015, ambient temperature was higher than in April 2015, while the
humidity lower. However, what is relevant here is the difference between them,
214
because this leads to non-comparable performance analysis, unless we find a way to

correct efficiency in terms of temperature and humidity.
Pre-Maintenance Post-Maintenance
0.4
0.39
0.38
Overall Efficiency
0.37
0.36
0.35
0.34
0.33
0.32
140 160 180 200 220 240
Power output [MW]
Figure 5-43 Power output-Overall Efficiency of the GT Pre-Maintenance
(27/Apr/2015) and Post-Maintenance (02/Sep/2015)
Having explained the main influencing factors, a performance analysis can be

conducted in order to point out the real convenience of the HGPI in terms of GT
performance. The measured values on the power plant that can be useful in this section
are: GT load, volumetric flow rate of fuel and its composition, ambient temperature,
humidity and pressure. For the sake of convenience, fuel composition and ambient
215
pressure can be considered constant, so that also the lower heating value (LHV) is
constant. Thus, LHV is 48 MJ/kg and the ambient pressure is 1 bar (or 101.325 kPa).
Therefore, the overall efficiency is:
𝑃𝑒
𝜂𝑜 =
𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ 𝐿𝑉𝐻
0.4
0.39
0.38
Overall Efficiency
0.37
0.36
0.35
0.34
0.33
0.32
140 160 180 200 220 240
Power output [MW]
Figure 5-44 Power output-Overall Efficiency of the GT Pre-Maintenance (27/Apr/2015) and
Post-Maintenance (02/Sep/2015) [correction in accordance with [43]]
216
Where 𝑃𝑒 is the electrical output power that the CCGT delivers to the grid. 𝑚̇𝑓 is the
mass flow rate of fuel.
Figure 5-43 is a collection of values, taken in April 27th (Pre-Maintenance) and in

September 2nd (Post-Maintenance). From the first sight, it seems that the GT efficiency
is unexpectedly lower after the HGPI and this appears even more evident at high loads.
However, April and September have two very different ambient conditions, which must
be taken into account in order to conduct such study.
0.4
0.39
0.38
Overall Efficiency
0.37
0.36
0.35
0.34
0.33
0.32
140 160 180 200 220 240
Power output [MW]
Figure 5-45 Power output-Overall Efficiency of the GT Pre-Maintenance

(27/Apr/2015) and Post-Maintenance (02/Sep/2015) [Theoretical correction in
accordance with chapter 5.5.3]
217
In Figure 5-44 the power output/corrected efficiency is drawn. The efficiency has been
corrected as De Sa and Al Zubaidy [43] suggested in accordance with the different
ambient temperature conditions. It is evident that the efficiency after Maintenance has
been improved, especially at part load.
The correction has been operated experimentally, using a correction factor provided by
some researchers. It might be useful to find a theoretical way for the efficiency
correction. However, temperature is not the only influencing parameter, so the relative
humidity is a relevant factor and using the results given in the previous chapter, a check
between the theoretical and experimental results can be made.
Figure 5-45 shows the result after the correction based on the humid air theory, so that,
humidity and temperature influence are kept into account. This result is only theoretical,
unlike Figure 5-44 showing the experimental correction. It is now clear that temperature
and humidity affect the GT efficiency and it is important to underline the similar results
obtained by the experimental and theoretical correction factor.
Figure 5-46 shows the two pre-maintenance curves corrected by means of the
theoretical and experimental correction factors. They overlap each other and they
separate only at very high efficiency values, namely when the GT has a power output
of over 220 MW. Therefore, within the operating range, the two curves practically
coincides. Deviation between the two curves is very little (-0.00311÷+0.00175, in
percentage 0.2%÷0.8%).
Another point that must be highlighted is the small difference between pre and post-
maintenance at high efficiency level, therefore, it seems that maintenance is more
convenient for part load, rather than for peak load.
218
Theoretical Correction Experimental Correction Deviation

0.4 0.90%
0.39
0.75%
Overall Efficiency
0.38
0.60%
0.37
Deviation
0.36 0.45%
0.35
0.30%
0.34
0.15%
0.33
0.32 0.00%
125 140 155 170 185 200 215 230 245
Power Output [MW]
Figure 5-46 Efficiency Correction by means of Theoretical and Experimental

Correction Factors
The HGPI convenience can be now evaluated, accounting its cost and the money
saved due to the maintenance.
5.6 Cost Analysis
5.6.1 HGPI Costs
Due to commercial reason, Ansaldo cannot reveal the actual costs for maintenance
operations. However, we can estimate approximately the costs considering the amount
219
of workers and the spare parts. In order to take into account possible unexpected
events, I will adjust upwards the estimation.
HGPI lasts approximately 28-30 days and it requires on average 20 workers per day,
who have to work 8-10 hours/day. Double shifts must be preferred rather than the triple
shift because the small reduction of HGPI duration does not justify the cost increment.
According to the metalworking hourly cost [51], we can assume an adjustment upwards
of 30€/hour.
Thus, from my estimation the personnel costs roughly 180 k€10, whereas the spare
parts cost approximately 8,000 k€ (source: AEN). Thus, the personnel costs are around
2% of the total cost.
It is worth highlighting surprisingly high maintenance costs. They are justifiable when
we take a look at the outage and/or malfunctioning costs. These costs are not
thoroughly known, though they can clarify the convenience of maintenance.
Figure 1-6 shows the electricity price trend and I can use a value of 50 €/MWh as the
electricity price in June (the actual price is slightly less, but I do not want to be too
thorough).
On the other hand the average price of natural gas per generated energy in 2015 is 25
€/MWh (see Figure 1-9). Hence, the difference between electricity price and natural
gas cost is 25 €/MWh. It is convenient to restrict the analysis to only one module;
therefore, I will consider only one GT and one ST with a maximum power output of 380
MW.
€ ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟
10 30 𝑑𝑎𝑦 ∙ 20 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟 ∙ 30 ∙ 10 = 180,000€
𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟∙ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦
220
However, such power plants do not always operate continuously nor at full load, but as
suggested by RSE spa [16], a reasonable capacity factor for a CCGT in Italy is 0.45.
Thus, the energy annually generated by such plant is approximately1,500 GWh.
The annual economic balance of the power plant is not available, but I can estimate
the main costs (fuel, personnel, IRAP, IRES) and the depreciation, based on data of
similar plants.
The hypothesis are:
 Investment Costs = 650 k€/MW

 Straight-line depreciation
 Service Life = 20 years
 Plant Capacity Factor (PCF) = 0.45
 IRES = 27.5%
 IRAP = 3.9 %
 Fuel cost = 25 €/MWh
 Electricity price = 50 €/MWh
 Number of workers = 15
 Annual Working Hours = 1648 h/year [52]
Table 5-3 summarizes expenses and incomes the power plant under analysis has.
221
380 MW CCGT
Depreciation [k€/year] 12,350
IRES [k€] 6,698
IRAP [k€] 979
Fuel Cost [k€] 37,449
Energy Price [k€] 74,898
Staff Costs [k€] 741
Table 5-3 Annual Expenses and Incomes of the CCGT (using data of 2015)
Depreciation is evaluated by means of straight-line method:
𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑠
𝐷𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒
IRES (Corporate Income Tax, or Imposta sul reddito delle società) is 27.9% of Income-
total Expenses (Staff costs are included).
IRAP (Regional Tax on Productive Activities, or Imposta regionale sulle attività

produttive) is 3.9% of Income-Expenses (Staff costs are not taken into account).
222
Fuel Cost HGPI/MO

56% 4%
O&M
13%
Other O&M
9%
Taxes Depreciation
12% 19%
Figure 5-47 Breakdown of annual Costs of a single module in Calenia CCGT

(380 MW)
In order to calculate the annual fuel cost, the annual energy production must be known.
The annual energy production is affected by maintenance, outages and market

demand. The following formula allows us to calculate it:
𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 [𝑀𝑊ℎ] = 𝑃 ∙ 𝑃𝐶𝐹 ∙ 8760
Where P is the maximum output power.
In the end, the plant annual profit is approximately 29,000 k€ per module.
HGPI costs 8,000 k€ and it is performed almost every three years. Annual O&M costs
for such a plant are roughly 9,000 k€/year [16] and they already regard all the
maintenance operation required during the entire service life (including HGPI).
223
Figure 5-47 is a pie chart highlighting the breakdown of annual costs the power plant
annually has. Fuel cost is the main cost (56%) and HGPI/MO represent about 34% of
the annual O&M costs, although they are performed every three years.
80000
60000
[k€]
40000
74898 66467
20000
0
Incomes Expenses
Figure 5-48 Annual Incomes/Expenses of a single module in Calenia CCGT (380

MW)
Regardless unexpected events, the annual profit can cover the annual O&M costs and
Figure 5-48 depicts total expenses and total incomes where the profit margin is clear
(approximately 10,000 k€, 12% of incomes). However, to better visualize the
convenience of maintenance, we should consider that an unexpected outage might
require much time to be repaired and high costs. It is easy to explain the long reparation
time because, unlike the routine maintenance, the operators have to carry out an
inspection and, as well as a diagnosis; these operations have unpredictable duration
and require particular skills, so more internal and/or external operators, might be
needed.
224
Hence, this explains partially high costs of unexpected outages. In addition, all
maintenance operation in this condition will be more expensive due to the emergency
state because there are no time to negotiate a better price of external expertise and
spare parts.
Lastly, the power plant owner must pay penalties charged by Terna for malfunctioning
and trip, since there is a contract for electricity supply with Terna and the power plant
owner has the responsibility for observance of the contract; any disservice will be
considered as owner’s fault.
5.6.2 Efficiency improvement and economic convenience
As already showed, maintenance improves efficiency, so that, the power plant requires
less mass flow rate of Natural Gas in order to produce the same amount of power
output, leading to a saving in operating costs.
The aim of this paragraph is to investigate how relevant is the overall efficiency in terms
of economic saving. The mass flow rate required to produce the daily demanded energy
is going to be analyzed and the comparison between the pre- and post-HGPI scenario
will be showed.
The equation used for the analysis is the following one:
𝑃𝑒
𝑚̇̇𝑓 =
𝜂𝑜 𝐿𝐻𝑉
LHV and Pe are the same, while 𝜂𝑜 has different value for the pre and post-HGPI.
225
In Figure 5-45, the overall efficiency is depicted for the two analyzed cases. The daily
demanded energy is not enough to evaluate the economic convenience, since the
increment of efficiency is different for different power output. Therefore, it is needed a
diagram showing how long the GT works at each load (see Figure 5-49).
25%
20%
Frequency
15%
10%
5%
0%
140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250
Power Output [MW]
Figure 5-49 Daily power output frequency
The previous diagram leads us to the money saving (see Figure 5-50), if we combine
the frequency with efficiency and fuel cost.
The largest saving is detected at low loads, as already expected, since Figure 5-45
showed a bigger gap between pre- and post-HGPI at low loads, while at high loads,
the curves overlap.
The annual savings (cumulative curve) are approximately 450 k€. Although they can
appear a big amount, they are a small percentage of plant annual profit. Therefore, the
efficiency increment does not play a key role in view of an economic convenience.
226
Savings Annual Savings

100 500
Thousands
Annual Savings [€]
Savings [€/MWh]
80 400
60 300
40 200
20 100
0 0
140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 220 230 240 250
Power Output [MW]
Figure 5-50 Specific Savings and Annual Savings due to efficiency improvement after
HGPI
Furthermore, the efficiency decreases with time, so despite the initial increment, after
a year this improvement is less relevant as it can be seen in Figure 5-51 where the
nozzle state shows a deterioration that can be conveniently repaired only two times
and after this period, the repair cost exceeds the replacement cost.
227
Figure 5-51 depicts clearly that after 25,000 operating hours there must be the 1st
repair and the second at 50,000 working hours because the minimum acceptance is
not met any longer, namely the efficiency is negatively affected.
Figure 5-51 Mechanical device conditions depends on operating hours
228
Conclusion
In the present work, the performance improvement after Hot Gas Path Inspection has
been investigated and the economic convenience in terms of efficiency increment has
been estimated.
The main components of Combined Cycle Power Plant and how such plant works were
described in order to have a better understanding of what is more thermally and
mechanically stressed, and how operating conditions influence lifetime of a power
plant.
Particular attention has been given to maintenance tests and operations with a special
care towards all the operations aimed at Gas Turbine, i.e. the typical inspections and
Non Destructive Tests.
The core of the present thesis involves the performance analysis, therefore, after a
short introduction about the three main influencing factors of the Gas Turbine efficiency
(temperature, pressure, humidity), two different approaches have been employed in
order to correct the efficiency before and after Hot Gas Path Inspection. The first
approach comes from technical literature and it has been found experimentally,
whereas the second one has been calculated theoretically. However, they lead to the
same results and the deviation is less than 0.8%.
Using data from the first chapter, an economic analysis has been done and a
breakdown of annual costs has highlighted that Operating and Maintenance costs
represent 13% of all annual expenses (Hot Gas Path Inspection and Major Overhaul
represent 4%).
Conclusion
Annual costs are roughly 67,000 k€ and incomes 75,000 k€ (annually and for a single
module, namely 380 MW).
The performance analysis has been used to evaluate the economic saving in terms of
reduced fuel, since maintenance improves the plant efficiency. However, the economic
analysis has pointed out the low impact of efficiency improvement on the economic
balance (450 k€ for the first year; annual profit of a single module is approximately
10,000 k€).
Maintenance influences not only the plant efficiency, but also its availability. Having a
high availability allows the plant to generate more energy (high revenues) and to reduce
the cost of extraordinary maintenance (lower unexpected expenses).
Furthermore, the power plant would be persecuted by Terna, which would put the
power plant under sanctions (fines/penalties) due to the disservice.
Further analysis might be done in order to evaluate the increment of availability and its
impact on the economic balance.
230
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235
Appendix
Definitions
Reliability: Probability of not being forced out of service when the unit is needed –
includes forced outage hours (FOH) while in service, while on reserve shutdown and
while attempting to start normalized by period hours (PH) – units are %.
1 − 𝐹𝑂𝐻
𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 100
𝑃𝐻
Availability: Probability of being available, independent of whether the units is needed

– includes all unavailable hours (UH) normalized by period hours (PH) – units are %.
1 − 𝑈𝐻
𝐴𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 100
𝑃𝐻
Equivalent Reliability: Probability of a multi-shaft combined-cycle power plant not

being totally forced out of service when the unit is required includes the effect of gas
and steam cycle MW output contribution to plant output, units are %:
𝐺𝑇 𝐹𝑂𝐻 𝐻𝑅𝑆𝐺 𝐹𝑂𝐻 𝑆𝑇 𝐹𝑂𝐻

𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 = [1 − [ +𝐵( + )] × 100]
𝐺𝑇 𝑃𝐻 𝐵 𝑃𝐻 𝑆𝑇 𝑃𝐻
GT FOH = GT forced outage hours
GT PH = GT Period hours
B PH = HRSG Period hours
B = Steam cycle MW output contribution (normally 0.3)

Equivalent Availability: Probability of a multi-shaft combined-cycle power plant being
available for power generation – independent of whether the unit is needed – includes
all unavailable hours – includes the effect of the gas and steam cycle MW output
contribution to plant output, units are %:
𝐺𝑇 𝑈𝐻 𝐻𝑅𝑆𝐺 𝑈𝐻 𝑆𝑇 𝑈𝐻
𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐴𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 = [1 − [ +𝐵( + )] × 100]
𝐺𝑇 𝑃𝐻 𝐺𝑇 𝑃𝐻 𝑆𝑇 𝑃𝐻
Plant Capacity Factor (PCF): it is defined as the ratio of actual energy produced in
kWh (E) to the maximum possible energy that could have been produced during the
same period:
𝐸
𝑃𝐶𝐹 =
𝐶×𝑡
Where:
𝐶 is the capacity of the power plant in kW
𝑡 is the total amount of hours in the given period
Plant Use Factor (PUF): it is defined as the ratio of actual energy produced in kWh (E)
to the maximum possible energy that could have been produced during the actual
number of hours the plant was in operation (t’):
𝐸
𝑃𝑈𝐹 =
𝐶 × 𝑡′
Load Factor: it compares the average load to the peak load during a prescribed period
of time
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑
237
Load Curve: is a graphic record showing the power demands for every instant during
a certain time interval
Service Factor: Measure of operational use, usually expressed on an annual basis,

units are %:
𝑂𝐻
𝑆𝐹 = × 100
𝑃𝐻
Operating Duty Definition:
Duty Service Factor Fired Hours/Starts
Stand-by <1% 1 to 4
Peaking 1%-17% 3 to 10
Cycling 17%-50% 10 to 50
Continuous >90% >>50
MTBF – Mean Time Between Failure: measure of probability of completing the current
run. Failure events are restricted to force outages (FO) while in service – units are
operating hours (OH):
𝑂𝐻
𝑀𝑇𝐵𝐹 =
𝐹𝑂
238
Equivalent operating hour (EOH): It is expedient to base the operating period
between inspections, HGPI, MO on the cumulative wear of the most stressed parts.
Thus, we use the EOH. The GT works under different operating conditions and EOH
compounds them in a single value that represents the operating hours at base load to
reach the same wear.
n
t EOH  a1n1   ti  f  w  b1t1
i 1
Where:
tEOH = equivalent operating hours
n1 = number of starts
a1 = 10 (start factor)
ti = equivalent hours due to rapid temperature changes
n = number of rapid temperature changes
t1 = operating hours at up to base load
b1 = 1 (base load factor)
f = fuel weighting factor
f = 1.0 for fuel gas and distillate fuels, provided the SIEMENS specification is
complied with
f = 1.5 for distillate fuels which slightly exceed limits stipulated for the pollutants
Na + K or V per SIEMENS Specification
w = weighting factor for injection of water
𝑚𝑤
𝑤 = 1 + 0.45
𝑚𝑓
mw = injected water mass flow (in the emulsion)
mf = fuel mass flow
239
The weighting factor b1 takes into account the creep strength, which is influenced by
the operating temperature.
Water is used for NOx control, but this increases the hot gas mass flow and the
pressure ratio. Thus, the mechanical loadings sustained by the blades are higher and
since the water enhances the heat transfer coefficient, the temperature of the blades
rises as well.
The wear resistance of the blade coating decreases due to the moisture content of air.
The moisture content the effect of the moisture already present in the intake air, of the
combustion and the water injection. Factor w takes into account these effects.
In addition to this, starts have a deleterious effect on the turbomachinery so they are
compounded with a weighting factor a1=10. The system recognizes a start when the
speed exceeds a certain limit.
The others events affecting the lifetime of the components are rapid temperature
changes, caused by rapid load changes or load rejection/trip. The rapid temperature
changes are measure at the EGT
Relative Humidity: is the ratio between the amount of water in the air compared to the
maximum amount of water the air can carry under the ambient conditions of pressure
and temperature
240
Annex A
GANNT chart of the HGPI
241
242
243
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DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA INDUSTRIALE E DELL’INFORMAZIONE

CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE IN

Performance Analysis and Economic Effects of

PROF. ING. A. UNICH ANTONIO CILINDRO

ING. S. ISOPPO A19/216

Anno Accademico 2014/2015

The role of maintenance is to reduce unexpected outages. The most effective

Maintenance is of crucial importance in the power production field and it always

List of Tables .............................................................................................................. 14

1. Italian Electricity Market ....................................................................................... 22

1.1 Current Institutions and Electric System ....................................................... 22

1.2 Italian supply and demand ............................................................................ 26

2. Combined Cycle Power Plants ............................................................................ 35

2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 35

2.2 CCGT ........................................................................................................ 39

2.2.1 Gas Turbine ............................................................................................ 42

2.2.2 Steam turbine ......................................................................................... 45

2.2.3 Steam Generator .................................................................................... 49

2.2.4 Generators ............................................................................................. 51

2.2.5 Other equipment ..................................................................................... 51

2.2.6 Operating parameters............................................................................. 52

2.2.7 State-of-the-art ....................................................................................... 52

2.2.8 Economic Aspects .................................................................................. 55

2.3 Summary ................................................................................................... 59

3.1 Gas Turbine .................................................................................................. 62

3.2 Axial Compressor ...................................................................................... 69

3.3 Combustion Chamber ................................................................................ 77

3.4 Axial Turbine .............................................................................................. 84

3.5 Design for Maintenance ............................................................................. 86

3.6 Steam Turbine ........................................................................................... 87

3.7 HRSG ........................................................................................................ 94

3.8 Air condenser........................................................................................... 102

4 Maintenance Theory .......................................................................................... 105

4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 105

4.2 Economics of Reliability .............................................................................. 109

4.3 GT Maintenance ......................................................................................... 113

4.3.1 Hot Gas Path Inspection....................................................................... 120

4.3.2 Major Inspection or Major Overhaul...................................................... 135

4.4 Non Destructive Test .................................................................................. 136

4.4.1 Visual Inspection .................................................................................. 136

4.4.2 Dye Penetrant Testing (PT) .................................................................. 137

4.4.3 Eddy Current Testing (ET).................................................................... 139

4.4.4 Ultrasonic Testing (UT)......................................................................... 140

4.4.5 Magnetic Particle Testing (MT) ............................................................. 142

4.5 CCPP Startup ............................................................................................. 143

4.6 Garanzia Totale di Funzionamento ............................................................. 147

4.6.2 Periodical Inspections – Predictive Analysis ......................................... 150

4.6.3 Routine Maintenance............................................................................ 153

4.6.4 Planned Maintenance ........................................................................... 154

4.6.5 Extraordinary Maintenance ................................................................... 155

4.6.6 Organizational structure ....................................................................... 156

5. Hot Gas Path Inspection of GT .......................................................................... 161

5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 161

5.2 Activity Journal ............................................................................................ 165