In May, S&C successfully started up a 230 MW steam turbine-driven generator unit after completing a steam control valve actuator retrofit. We recently completed a steam control valve actuator retrofit and started up a second 230 MW steam turbine for the same company. This project involved a controller that had run for 15 years and had outdated hardware that was no longer available on the market
S&C successfully transferred all algorithms to a newly selected controller. This programming was challenging because of the drastically different architecture, programming languages, and necessity to integrate the new controller into the existing system.
In addition to programming the new controller, S&C tested the existing electromechanical actuators manufactured by Exlar at the corporate offices because the customer was unable to test them onsite. After successfully completing testing, S&C sent the actuators back to the customer for use.
The unit was successfully started up in just a couple days and put into operation; the entire project took less than one month from start to finish. The project also came in under budget and exceeded customer expectations.
