RESULTS:

• Novaspect saved the customer over $18 K on installation cost of wireless versus hard-wired.

  

• Trending data and alerts enable maintenance personnel to recognize problems in advance and
  avoid shutdowns.
• Operators no longer risk falling near towers during winter weather while taking manual readings.

APPLICATION

Power plant cooling tower motor and gearbox vibration monitoring.

CUSTOMER

Large midwestern coal-fueled power plant features two units with a total generation capacity of more than 1,100 megawatts.

CHALLENGE

Customer was experiencing high noise and variable frequency drive interference making any measurement difficult near cooling towers. In addition, no gearbox readings could be taken while in operation, while manual motor readings could only be taken every few weeks.

SOLUTION

Novaspect engineers implemented three wireless vibration devices on a cooling tower enabling readings to be taken every 30 minutes. This allows integration services to supply data to a Distributed Control System (DCS). The Emerson wireless HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) worked where competitor’s systems failed. When the concept of introducing wireless to the plant was first proposed, the customer was skeptical.

Historically, this power plant had installed a competitor’s DCS, controls, instruments and even tried their version of wireless without success. Novaspect brought in our subject matter expert to explain the differences between Emerson Wireless HART and its imitators. After explaining how the network was different than what they had used before, the customer agreed
to a trial for the right application. One plant engineer challenged us to take vibration measurements on their cooling towers which have historically had so much noise and interference from variable frequency drives (VFDs). Neither the competitor’s wireless or wired solution were able to communicate out of their gearbox and motor areas. The initial installation and test was successful, but the customer still doubted the measurements in view of their past experiences. However, after double-checking the data with handheld measurements, they found the readings to be dead-on accurate.

BENEFITS & MEASURABLE RESULTS

An initial estimate indicates the customer saved roughly $18K in costs by installing wireless instead of a wired system. Plus, they also recognized having this data will allow them to better predict a problem with a tower before it forces them to run back their generation capabilities, especially when a tower needs to be shut down quickly during summer peak demand. Now they are able to
get updated gearbox readings in a timely fashion which were impossible during earlier tower operations. While in the past they limped along with manual motor vibration
readings every few weeks, this data is now automatically read every 30 minutes. Thus, operators no longer have to risk safety incidents in winter weather, walking routes to take manual readings.

To learn more about how we can solve your challenging process application, contact Novaspect today.

RESULTS:

• Reliability maintenance is simplified and minimized.

  

• Zero-leakage valve features eliminate damage to
  controls.
• Metal-seated ball valves are ideal in severe service
  applications.

APPLICATION

Biomass power co-generation.

CUSTOMER

Public energy utility providing steam to pulp paper mill and electricity to the power grid.

CHALLENGE

Fuel for boiler is provided by clean wood waste from sawmills, lumber & paper mills; natural gas is used for boiler start-up and auxiliary boiler. All major functions in the plant are controlled by

operators with computer support to continuously monitor and report on pressures, temperatures, flow rates, etc. The attemporator controls steam temperature but the issue  was the on/off isolation valves for the attemperator control were leaking and cutting trim on the control valves. The original valves, supplied by the boiler manufacturer, were globe-style

valves attached to electric actuators. The plant manager could not get adequate service support from any of the original equipment makers. Consequently, there was no consistent control of the steam generated by the boiler operation.

SOLUTION

Novaspect engineers recommended the following control configuration: three 2-inch EVS 1500 pound, 1.5-inch bore F22 body socket weld metal seated ball valves; attached to Field Q QD600 actuators; with an Asco solenoid; and a Topworx limit switch for each unit. Metal-seated ball valves have proven to be the valves of choice in severe service applications where critical shut-off or isolation of flow must be achieved due to safety, environmental or maintenance concerns. The installed valve assemblies are fitted with zero-leakage features, thereby eliminating damage to controls from leaks.

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

The plant manager is pleased with how the Novaspect solution has made valve maintenance much easier. The technicians who maintain the equipment on-site prefer the double-acting pneumatic actuator to the inferior original electric actuator performance. In addition, the local support of sales and service reps is convenient and helpful for training and troubleshooting.

To learn more about how we can solve your challenging process application, contact Novaspect today

RESULTS:

• Identify gas turbine “trip” cause to reduce OEM’s turbine hardware warranty back-charges.

  

• Realized savings of $140,000 cost per event from turbine OEM.
• Reduced system downtime and improved maintenance reliability

APPLICATION

Steam injection control valves within a combined cycle generation facility using four gas turbines in a 1-on-1 configuration with associated HRSG and steam turbines.

CUSTOMER

1200 megawatt combined cycle power plant owned by a Midwest independent power producer.

CHALLENGE

By contract, the turbine OEM warranties turbine components in guidance to allowable unit starts and run hours. Turbine “trips” result in costly penalties toward the contracted allowable “wear and-tear” of warranteed turbine components.

The function of the CTG steam injection system is to boost the combustion turbine output during base load operation. Steam injection into the combustion turbine also lowers the overall plant heat rate, and works by injecting superheated steam into each of the combustors, upstream of the combustion zone.

The process increases overall mass flow through the turbine, resulting in increased power generation and provides a cooling effect on the combustion process, thereby reducing the fire temperature. By decreasing fire temperature, NOx emissions are reduced and more fuel can be introduced into the combustion zone.

Fisher® VeeBallTM control valves are very important to this process as these valves, if not reacting quickly

enough, will “trip” the unit.
An upgrade of turbine control software was installed on Units 1 & 3 during a recent outage. Shortly after these upgrades, the customer experienced issues with the steam injection process. The unit would trip once steam injection was initiated.

The OEM attributed the trips to the Fisher Vee-Ball control

valves, insisting that the valves were in poor shape and told the customer that the control valves on Units 1 & 3 needed immediate replacement. Novaspect was contacted and asked to verify whether the valves were in fact the problem.

With two days notice, the experts from Fisher’s Lifecycle Services came in to perform a complete Advanced Diagnostic scan on both valves in question. Fisher also scanned a known good valve for additional comparison to the control valves in question. The results proved the Fisher control valves were in excellent working condition and the requested replacement was unnecessary.

Benefits & Measurable Results

The evidence pointed to significant financial benefits: The power plant had ten system trips isolated to Units 1 & 3, equating to a cost to the customer of $140,000 per trip. The test proved that the fault was with the turbine software upgrade, thus the customer was not responsible for the trips. In addition to the wasted downtime and lost production of the ten trips, the customer also lost over 50,000 pounds of natural gas during the events.

Reliability Adds Up

“Your [Novaspect] team always comes through. By having this leverage andmproving the control valves were in properly working order, we avoid the “trip” penalties which will save us up to a million on the warranty.” — Plant Operations Manager

RESULTS

• Saved $500,000 USO by repairing-rather than replacing-control valves

  

• Provided an on-site service manager to plan and execute the project with support from local pipe-fitters
• Completed a major turnaround on schedule and within budget

APPLICATION

Control valves for gas and steam turbines at a combined-cycle plant

CUSTOMER

An energy-generating center in Illinois, USA

CHALLENGE

Construction of a power generating plant began in 2000, but halted abruptly when the previous owner went bankrupt. About 60 complete, the facility sat idle for nearly ten years-until a new owner bought it and sought support for its completion. How do you resurrect a gas-fired, combined-cycle generation facility from a ten-year grave? Critters and rust invaded the site when its new owner launched a major turnaround.

Emerson was among several suppliers competing for the revamp but quickly gained preference as a one-stop source for all the resources needed for the overhaul. The project would require diagnostic tests and repairs of existing valves; on-site services including project management, maintenance tracking, and commissioning; as well as the installation of new equipment to support a generating capacity of 580 megawatts.

The new owner gained confidence in Emerson’s strong, local, integrated team including application engineers from Novaspect and lifecycle service technicians, trained and experienced with Fisher™ products. Ultimately, Emerson was chosen to provide a comprehensive package of products and services to get the plant completed and running.

SOLUTION

The scope of Emerson’s on-site services at the plant included:

• The coordination of multiple construction groups, from the engineering contractor to local pipe-fitters;
• The supply of process automation equipment including an Ovation™ control system and Fisher control valves, instruments, and regulators;
• An execution plan to meet the plant managers’ goals, schedule, and budget;
• A valve service project manager, who coordinated the on-site repairs of 65 existing gate, globe, check, isolation, manual, and relief valves from multiple manufacturers;
• The installation of 23 new Fisher control valves and desuperheaters for severe service applications such as turbine bypass, sky vent, and feedwater control. Many of the assemblies featured custom trim and FIELDVUE™ DVC6200-PD digital valve controllers with Performance Diagnostics.

When the turnaround began, Emerson’s project team took a repair­rather-than-replace approach to the control valve work. That strategy saved the investor at least $500,000 USD. Throughout the 18-month turnaround, the project team focused on reliability and leveraged service team’s six-step outage management process. Certified technicians supervised the on-site repairs and entered details into a maintenance database. They were able to track the repairs by tag number, document the “as-found” condition of each valve, and generate progress reports.
The support provided by Novaspect and Emerson enabled this power producer to complete the revamp on schedule and within budget.

RESOURCES

Flyer: Certified Control Valve Repair Services Help You
Maximize Uptime
emr.sn/P1eH

RESULTS:

• Improved valve design avoids 15-month periodic repair & replacement.
• Improved reliability and increased throughput.
• Return-On-Investment: less than 24 hours.

APPLICATION

Hot, low-pressure, flash drum level control in Gas-Oil Hydro Treater (GOHT) producing light cycle gas oil (LCGO) in combined duty shared with distillate hydrotreater (DHT).

CUSTOMER

Large refinery processor.

CHALLENGE

Customer was experiencing that, over time, its gas-oil hydrotreater capacity had grown to the point where two components of the high-pressure separator let-down service would occasionally be flagged as unit constraints. Refinery operations are such that the gas-oil hydrotreater and distillate hydrotreater share the duty of Light Cycle Gas Oil production (LCGO). During unit shutdown, the GOHT was unable to handle LCGO production on it’s own, making it a further constraint. The two units became the bottleneck to achieving maximum LCGO production during a distillate
hydrotreater turnaround. Further, corrective repair work to these two valves was required every 15 months. This was due to valve and trim washout and excessive vibration causing packing problems and premature yoke failures. Improper valve sizing created choked flow conditions which resulted in unit constraints during normal and temporary feed slate conditions.

SOLUTION

Novaspect and Fisher® collaborated with customer process engineers to understand the complete set of process conditions
that were creating the outgassing conditions in both normal and temporary feed slate conditions. The Novaspect-Fisher experts used a “bracket” sizing technique to understand the valve flow
coefficient (Cv) requirements that could result from different outgassing phenomena. The resulting solution was a customized Fisher 3”x3” Type HPAS valve with 2-Stage DST-G outgassing trim designed specifically for this application. Its valve body was designed to meet customer piping and material specs with a contoured and expanded outlet to prevent “choked flow” and other problems such as vibration and erosion due to outgassing. The resulting trim was suitably customized to meet the Cv requirements of the customer.

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

The project Return On Investment (ROI) was recorded at less than 24 hours, calculated during a temporary feed slate opportunity. After installing the Novaspect solution, these valves have not failed since (96 months) versus every 15 months before. Emerson Process Management provided by Novaspect offers an array of control system support services designed to help achieve business objectives, reduce or contain operating and service costs, and keep control systems running at peak performance. It is a partnership that understands your business and can help you
operate your plant safely, reliably and more efficiently. To learn more about how we can solve your challenging process application, contact Novaspect today.

• Improves monitoring of fluid volumes and temperature; eliminates guesswork.
• Approved by North Dakota Industrial
  Commission (NDIC).
• Reduces safety hazards to minimum;
  avoids manual tank gauging.
• Optimizes load capacity to DOT regulations.

  

APPLICATION

Crude oil custody transfer at remote well-pad.

CUSTOMER

Midstream oil transporters and ancillary service providers.

CHALLENGE

The economic impact of custody transfer in the oil and gas industry is huge. Transferred fluids are expensive, so producers, carriers and end users want to make sure that quantity and quality are measured precisely. Also, as taxes and royalties are calculated on these values, measurement accuracy and reproducibility are legal requirements.
There are two methods mostly used for custody transfer of liquid hydrocarbons at the well-pad: tank gauging or dynamic measurement with LACT units. Tank gauging has been used for decades. It is well accepted by the industry and involves a volume assessment of liquid products in a tank in static conditions – meaning that no liquid can enter or leave the tank during the measurement. Basic sediment and water (BS&W), density and temperature all have to be measured manually, exposing drivers to potentially dangerous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and gas vapors. Some uncertainties, however, are associated with tank gauging, including tank deformities, temperature measurement duration and difficulties, and human error.

SOLUTION

Novaspect is providing a mobile Lease Automatic Custody Transfer (LACT) system on oil trucks approved by the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC). The benefits are twofold: accuracy and safety. The primary benefit is to reduce production costs by increasing accuracy of measurement. Current estimates of manual tank gauging inaccuracies range from 0.5%
to 1% or greater. Mobile LACT units for custody transfer offer measurement accuracy of 0.25% or better. This comes from not just the meter, but from the choice of all the necessary instrumentation and devices integrated in the system. Safety: The second important benefit is reduced exposure of personnel to safety risks and hazards. These include exposure to deadly H2S gas, natural gas vapors, prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures, as well as the danger of climbing on tanks with potential for slips and falls.

Other valuable advantages of the automated system:

• Protects against overfill. System can monitor gross volume and alarms at maximum truck capacity or shutdown pump.
• Eliminates tank strapping costs.
• Reduces load times.
• Optimizes load capacity to DOT regulations, thus providing cost savings on truck operation.
• Simultaneous on-line measurement of gross volume, net volume, temperature & density.

Emerson mobile LACT product features include:

• Rugged instrumentation
• System historian
• Plug-and-play configuration with cabling
• Easy-touch screen user interface

As an option, Novaspect technicians can also assist with integration into mobile systems, SCADA, or offer direct ticket printing plus local service and support in North Dakota.

RESULTS:

• Vibration ODS analysis flags improperly installed compressor unit; avoids premature failure.
• Infrared analysis spots rotating machinery hot spots; indicates necessary maintenance.
• Machinery health manager software enables smart overview of entire asset conditions.

APPLICATION

Oilfield by-product gas compression and redistribution.

CUSTOMER

Midstream oil-gas production company with network of six gas processing plants in the Bakken region with gas gathering pipelines at well-heads,

compressor stations, and redistribution pipelines.

CHALLENGE

Bakken oil production typically removes entrained gas which is either flared or captured. Captured gas is rich and contains significant liquids. Other

challenges in the Bakken include temperature extremes from winter to summer, impacting materials and production methods as well as the accelerated pace of drilling and infrastructure buildout outpacing the ability to properly work out issues prior to startup. Captured gas from each well site is gathered into a network of small gas pipelines and compressor stations. The gathering system consists of many miles of pipe and 150 reciprocating compressors located in remote, unmanned stations. These compressors move the gas miles away to a district gas plant where natural gas liquids (NGL) are removed for two purposes: sale of the liquids, and drying the gas in preparation for transport through larger, interstate pipelines to large production facilities that provide natural gas, ethylene, and various petrochemicals. Shortly after startup, however, the compressor equipment was experiencing early failures from vibration and overheating, resulting in production losses, safety risk, and high maintenance costs.

ODS Analysis Flags Issues

Initially, during the acceptance phase, on one compressor unit, the Novaspect team used advanced diagnostics including operating deflection shape (ODS) analysis. This vibration test discovered significant negative structural anomalies that were traced to improperly installed external shims on the compressor skid. Immediate corrective action was recommended to avoid catastrophic failure. As part of a comprehensive solution, Novaspect Reliability Field Services established a route-based data collection pilot program using Emerson CSI 2140 Machinery Health Analyzers. Additionally, FLIR infrared (IR) thermography was used on valves and electrical equipment, with future capability for oil analysis and electical signaure analysis. The entire package was integrated with AMS Machinery Health Manager software to build a predictive maintenance data base, case histories, and interactive reporting. Other future options may include continuous, remote monitoring of the compressors.

RESULTS

• Pilot Program included 96 individual compressor assets in seven locations. Of these, 25% had issues of varying degrees of urgency: 3 “high-high; 7 “high”; 14 “early warning”; 2 “repaired”. Some typical mechanical issues included: bearings, rotor bars, fan blades, pump imbalance,
• excessive vibration, belt tension
• Return On Investment (ROI) The $100K pilot project conducted over a period of six weeks resulted in documented savings of $800K. This success led to the further commitment of a $1.2M Reliability Service Agreement for upscaling these results across the entire company fleet of assets totaling approximately $2B.

To discuss how Novaspect can solve your challenging application, contact us today.

RESULTS:

• Improved controls bleed significantly less gas under steady state conditions.
• Increased accuracy over given control range.
• Safe, reliable and accurate pressure delivery under all conditions.

APPLICATION

Natural gas custody transfer point.

CUSTOMER

Natural gas transportation and storage service company including grid transportation between other interstate and intrastate pipelines.

CHALLENGE

This transfer station is a critical natural gas feed into a major metropolitan area, and requires safe, reliable and accurate pressure delivery to the custody transfer metering equipment. This pressure is controlled through three parallel pipe runs, each containing a six-inch (NPS 6) Fisher control valve. Each valve is controlled by a Fisher® FIELDVUE™ digital valve controller that receives its pressure command from a local RTU. Because the control equipment is electronic in nature, it is critical that there be a local backup control source, should there be a power outage or lightning strike. Each valve was previously controlled by older, pneumatic equipment using nozzle-and-flapper technology with significant bleed gas to the atmosphere.

SOLUTION

The previous backup control was provided through local pneumatic pressure controller that use natural gas as the supply pressure medium. It is critical that these controllers take over control accurately with minimal gas bleed to the atmosphere. The previous controllers allowed a constant bleed as part of their normal operation, and the internal linkages were subjected to wear and corrosion. There was also an unacceptable dead band when the valves were required to operate under pneumatic control. The controllers were replaced with new units manufactured by VRG Controls, which bleed zero gas under steady state conditions and minimal gas when moving, plus have more accuracy over a given control range. Now any bleed gas has been substantially reduced, helping the customer meet their environmental goals and also reduce lost and unaccounted-for natural gas. Better control accuracy and increased reliability helps them maintain good standing with the local distribution company whom they are supplying.

This Novaspect / Emerson solution included:

• VRG Controls Model VPC-700-SA-BV
• Fisher FIELDVUE digital valve controller
• Fisher NPS 6 EWT valve with 657 actuator.

To discuss how we can solve your challenging application, contact us today.