From the front to the back of the boiler (or HRSG), the extreme conditions faced by pressure parts are a challenge for any designer to overcome. The same applies to other components in the steam cycle, from the condensers, to the Power Piping, and of course the steam turbine. Degradation is an unfortunate but inevitable reality for the power plant’s pressure equipment. Effective operation and maintenance (O&M) of the plant requires informed management of maintenance activities during planned shutdowns and demands judicious responses to unexpected failures. It is difficult to achieve the delicate balance of having optimal thermal process performance, maintaining appropriate water/steam chemistry while controlling O&M costs that will minimize equipment wear and aging. With over 25 years of experience in thermal power plants – including conventional plants with radiant boilers (gas, oil, coal, biomass), and combined cycle plants with HRSGs – at Tetra Engineering we have the required resources and competence to support you during planned (or unplanned) outages and to assist you remotely in preparation.
Our field services include:
This basic activity is the best measure of the boiler’s present condition – don’t leave it to amateurs.
On-line external inspection of equipment includes checking for leaks and hot spots with thermography, tracking excessive vibration and reviewing of key process parameters while in operation. Drone inspections are available as an option
Regular checking of the condition of the plant piping system is an often overlooked yet critical aspect for assuring reliable and safe operation. Doing it correctly requires the experience to make on-the-spot decisions in the field
Optimise outage resources by targeting NDT inspection locations – avoid the trap of letting NDE contractors decide where to inspect.
Unsupervised welding activities are a recipe for trouble. Experience shows that paper quality does not equal weld quality.
Reduce the unnecessary cycling of equipment and improve the safety measures that protect your equipment.