By Tom Reid, Vice President of Power Generation Services, ENTRUST Solutions Group

A Case Study

Background

ENTRUST Solutions Group’s health assessment program has conducted more than 350 turbine generator evaluations. Our database covers a wide range of units, including steam turbines (nuclear, fossil, and biomass) and gas turbines (aeroderivative and industrial) from all major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). These units vary in output capacity, from as low as 8 MW to over 1,500 MW.

In recent years, the scope of the health assessment program has expanded to include balance-of-plant equipment such as boilers, ID fans, and cooling towers, reflecting our continuous adaptation to client needs.

Assessment Goals

1. Establish Current Unit Condition: Define the condition of each unit as a function of its design, past operational history, and anticipated duty cycle.
2. Identify Critical Problem Areas: Pinpoint problem areas within the turbine generator system, assess their severity, and determine the likelihood of occurrence.
3. Develop Mitigation Actions: Formulate outage scopes, capital investment plans, and action items to address high-risk areas and prolong asset life.
4. Enhance Operational Integration: Provide results that can be seamlessly integrated into plant workflow and monitoring systems.
5. Deliver Financial Value: Improve unit availability, optimize outage and maintenance schedules, and reduce forced outage costs through efficient planning and prioritization.

Establishing Unit Condition

To determine the current condition of a turbine generator, ENTRUST combines decades of experience across OEM, utility, and consulting domains. The process incorporates interviews with plant operations and maintenance personnel, analysis of outage reports, and review of operational data.

Unit-Specific Problem Areas

To streamline the assessment, the turbine generator is segmented into approximately 50 distinct ‘problem areas.’ These problem areas represent failure modes or chronic conditions that directly impact availability and reliability. For example, in the case of steam turbines, the system is divided into turbine components, valves, generator sections, and supporting systems.

Each problem area serves as a repository for all relevant information, including historical data, inspection reports, part replacement records, and the effectiveness of past repairs. Furthermore, ENTRUST utilizes its extensive experience with like units to evaluate unit-specific trends and vulnerabilities.

Problem Area Risk Analysis

Each problem area is analyzed for two key factors:

1. Likelihood of Occurrence
2. Severity: This includes assessing the potential duration of forced outages or outage extensions if the issue arises.

Multiplying these two factors produces a weighted Availability Factor, ranging from 0 to 12.

A color-coded map provides a visual representation of Availability Factors for all problem areas. This map highlights critical issues, helping prioritize expenditures and refine the scope of planned work.

Outage Evaluation and Troubleshooting

Based on the Availability Factor roll-up, ENTRUST provides tailored recommendations for outage intervals and scope. These plans account for the unit’s current duty cycle and mode of operation.

Additionally, the assessment includes troubleshooting guidance and contingency planning for specific issues identified during the evaluation.

Financial Returns

Health assessments deliver value in several critical ways, including the following examples:

• Bridging Knowledge Gaps: Addresses knowledge loss caused by workforce retirements or turnover.
• Increasing Availability: Reduces forced outages and extends equipment uptime.
• Identifying Major Risks: Allows focused resource allocation to mitigate high-priority risks.
• Facilitating Contingency Planning: Prepares for emergent issues with actionable, data-driven plans.
• Reducing Repeat Outages: Minimizes recurrence of short-term failures.
• Enabling Strategic Planning: Supports T-minus-18-month maintenance planning and spare part procurement.
• Optimizing Budgets: Develops comprehensive repair scopes, reduces expediting costs, and leverages competitive repair pricing.
• Improving Outage Efficiency: Frequently identifies opportunities to reduce scope or extend interval durations beyond generic OEM recommendations.
• Enhancing Long-Term Planning: Assists in developing capital expenditure and operational and maintenance budgets.
• Integrating Lessons Learned: Captures and applies insights from similar units across the industry.
• Facilitating Monitoring and Updates: Promotes timely updates following outages and introduces ongoing monitoring recommendations to optimize operating conditions.

Summary

ENTRUST’s health assessment program is a proven strategy for identifying critical risks, optimizing maintenance schedules, and maximizing the long-term reliability of turbine generator systems. 

By integrating advanced methods, industry expertise, and lessons learned from hundreds of assessments, ENTRUST ensures clients gain actionable insights and measurable financial returns while maintaining operational excellence. 

Contact us today to find out more. 

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Tom has spent the entirety of his 15-year career in the power generation industry. 

In his current role as Vice President of Power Generation for ENTRUST, Tom oversees a team of approximately 100 engineers, whose expertise covers power plant equipment, modeling, and testing. 

Prior to ENTRUST, Tom held turbine design and repair roles at General Electric. Tom is a graduate of GE’s Edison Engineering Development Program and holds 7 U.S. patents. He holds an BSME degree from Virginia Tech, an MSME degree from Georgia Tech, and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Delaware.