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HP Heaters - Not To Be Ignored
HP Heaters - Not To Be Ignored
Unlike their haughty turbine or boiler counterparts, however, FWHs seem rather boring.
After all, they don’t make steam, generate electricity or rotate at 3600 rpm. Seldom do
they cause forced outages or demand teams of maintenance personnel. Similar to
piping supports, they do their job without fanfare. Although essential to power plant
operation, it’s easy to understand why FWHs suffer inattention and neglect.
The process of regenerative feedwater heating (that is, making use of existing energy
from the change in saturated steam to saturated liquid) allows the water to be raised to
saturation temperature very gradually. Within the Rankine cycle, this minimizes the
inevitable irreversibility associated with heat transfer to the working fluid (water).
Placement of high
pressure and lower pressure heaters in the power cycle.Improved thermodynamic
efficiency reduces unit operating costs and eases boiler thermal stress. Most plants use
both low-pressure (LP) and high-pressure (HP) heaters, and many also have the
intermediate-pressure (IP) variety. LP heaters initiate the process by heating
condensate with low-pressure turbine extraction steam prior to the boiler feed pumps.
Some LP heaters are placed within the condenser at the turbine exhaust throat. IP and
HP heaters are located downstream of the boiler feed booster and boiler feed pumps,
respectively. Typically, the HP heater tube side design pressure exceeds 1500 psig with
the high-pressure turbine supplying steam.
Additional components, although technically different, serve similar functions by adding
heat to the process and maximizing efficiency.
• Deaerator heaters, open to the atmosphere, heat water and remove dissolved oxygen.
• Economizers, instead of using steam, employ furnace flue gas as the final heating step
before the water enters the boiler drum.
Design
These types of FWHs are of the closed, shell-and-tube type and are of similar design
and function across the industry. They are unfired (ASME Section VIII pressure vessels)
since the heat transfer does not occur by means of combustion, but by convection and
condensation.
Multiple stages usually exist among separate heaters. Each heater stage corresponds
to a turbine extraction point. As extraction stages increase in number, the amount of
thermal energy required to generate a given amount of electrical energy is reduced.
Feedwater flows within the tubes and the extracted steam condenses on the shell side.
Condensed steam from each heater drains sequentially to the next lower pressure
heater and is returned to the feedwater through the condenser or heater drain pumps.
FWHs can be mounted vertically or horizontally, with each configuration having unique
advantages.
A
schematic showing key points of a closed feed water heater.In terms of tubing
materials, copper alloy is prominent among LP heaters. Stainless steel is popular
among HP heaters. Monel metal and carbon steel are also used to varying degrees.
FWHs find homes among all types of steam generators including fossil, nuclear and
combined-cycle heat recovery steam generators.
Value
FWHs play a substantial role in the unit’s thermodynamic cycle as they enhance thermal
efficiency. Approximately 33% of modern plant cycle efficiency savings can be attributed
to feedwater heaters, and so can be directly responsible for fuel cost savings.
Practically speaking, even though extraction steam is stolen from the turbine to heat the
feedwater, it’s an efficiency gain. That’s because the water temperature going into the
boiler drum vs. the steam temperature coming out is essentially the same. Conversely,
heating subcooled water to steam requires much more energy than any work which
could be obtained from the exhausted turbine steam being utilized. Heating water this
way is more efficient than relying upon combustion alone because it takes advantage of
energy already available to bring water up to temperature.
1. Reduce fuel required for combustion by increasing the initial water temperature to the
boiler
Operating FWHs without paying attention to their heater level is like driving your car
100,000 miles without checking the motor oil. Significant damages result from long-term
heater level issues that have gone unnoticed. Tube leaks, drain cooler damage and
other internal problems diminish performance and can result in removing the heater
from service.
One of the most damaging conditions is when steam and water mix in a non-design
condition. Consider that when an FWH (or group of FWHs) is isolated the water enters
the next-stage FWH at reduced temperature, and that FWH will extract additional
steam. Overloading up to three times the design steam flow is possible. Massive steam
flows and their resulting elevated drain flows yield flashing steam, hammering of the
components and causing potentially catastrophic damage.
Some plants attempt to increase generator output by isolating the high-pressure (HP)
FWHs to overfire the boiler. But overfiring exposes the boiler to thermal shock and
overloads the remaining FWHs as well as the turbine; permanent system damage far
outweighs any short-term gain. Other major problems include steam impingement, flow-
assisted corrosion (FAC), tube vibration and difficulty plugging failed tubes. Many plants
have experienced forced outages, major repair or premature heater replacement, all
expensive propositions.
Life Management