OPTIMAX® Plant OptimizationSolutions for Power Generation

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OPTIMAX® Plant Optimization

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• OOppeerraattiioonnss:: Monitor and predict plant perfor-mance, issue early warnings for equipment diagno-sis, sensor validation and preventive maintenance.Improve plant efficiency by reducing fuel consump-tion and resulting emissions.

• EEnnvviirroonnmmeenntt:: Optimize the combustion process and reduce emissions by monitoring flame quality,measuring coal flow and carbon in ash content, and improving controls by implementing advanced process control solutions.

• AAsssseett LLiiffeeccyyccllee:: Schedule the most economical operation of different generating units and trade-off income from sales against emissions and life cycle costs.

• MMaaiinntteennaannccee:: Reduce downtime and costs of main-tenance activities and improve data access for daily inspections as well as planned outages (resources,material,documents,work flow and personnel).

Information management is the backbone of plantoptimization systems. OPTIMAX® applications aredesigned to be independent of the information mana-gement system,hence they can be connected to a 3rd-party system,or to an ABB system. The latter ensuresseamless linking between multiple applications andsystems in real-time.

SSuummmmaarryyFaced with ever-increasing competition,utilities areconstantly striving to optimize plant operation and life cycle costs, and reduce emissions of their plantinvestments.

They search for powerful diagnostic and optimizationtools to identify performance deviations so that cor-rective action can be introduced early. In addition,these tools reduce the maintenance effort for all plantequipment,extend the life of critical capital equip-ment and increase the utilization of the existing assetbase.

ABB's OOPPTTIIMMAAXX®® plant optimization solutions sup-port plant personnel in achieving higher plant efficien-cies and expected performance of assets, thus impro-ving total plant availability and productivity.

IInnttrroodduuccttiioonnABB has used technological advances in the areas ofcontrol and software engineering to develop innova-tive plant optimization systems. The ABB OPTIMAX®

suite of solutions consists of decision-support toolswhich continuously assess plant condition and pro-vide root cause analysis in case of deviations.

The OPTIMAX® suite consists of a wide variety ofsystems and products, ranging from field instrumen-tation all the way to business solutions at enterpriselevel. The OPTIMAX® suite of solutions addresses thefollowing application areas:

Fig.1: OPTIMAX® application areas

PPeerrffoorrmmaannccee MMoonniittoorriinnggRegardless of a plant's age, the major portion of apower plant's life cycle costs is attributed to fuel andoperation,whereas maintenance represents most ofthe remaining costs. Plant Performance is a systemdesigned for performance monitoring of the plant and its equipment. It facilitates online or offline analysis of the process so that the user can determinehow current operating conditions affect, for example,plant efficiency and therefore plant fuel costs.

CCoonnddiittiioonn MMoonniittoorriinnggIn today's business climate, service centers are beingasked to monitor more machines over greater dis-tances,and do it more efficiently. ABB technology allows to monitor, analyse and protect rotating ma-chines with online or portable data acquisition anddiagnosis software.

SSpprriitteeMMAAXXTTMM is a cost-effective wireless network dataacquisition and fault diagnostic system for assessingthe condition of your critical plant rotating equip-ment.

OPTIMAX® Operations Systems

AAnnaallyyssttTTMM is a user directed graphical analysis toolwith specialized plots of significant patterns andtrends for efficient assessment of machine condition.

EExxppeerrtt AAddvviissoorrTTMM is a rule-based automated diagnosticsystem that continuously monitors incoming data todetermine faults in any common type of rotatingmachinery.

Fig.3: Condition monitoring of rotating machinery

Fig.4: AnalystTM displays

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Fig.2: Performance monitoring displays

A 675MW plant in the USAreported yearly savings of140k$ by improving unit efficiency and availability

with OPTIMAX®. In thesame unit the customercould reduce the cost forconducting performancetests by 100k$ per year.

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Fig.6: PowerFit model display for load optimization

PowerFit solutions combine fully developed asset andmarket models with the latest optimization tech-niques. This solution can handle utilities with com-plex generation portfolios which are seeking to opti-mize their costs and energy generation,be it electricalor a combination of electrical and other forms of ener-gy (heat,hydro,waste,etc.). In addition,decidingwhether or not it makes sense to buy or sell power or fuel, start or stop a unit, save lifetime,or postpone a preventive maintenance outage can be easily answered.

AAddvvaanncceedd PPrroocceessss CCoonnttrroollThe control performance limits the economical perfor-mance of a plant. OPTIMAX® Advanced Process Con-trol (APC) solutions reduce the variability of key pro-cess variables (e.g. temperatures,pressures,emissions)and improve process quality (e.g.maintain efficiencycloser to its optimal level). In addition, this permitscontrollers to keep better track of target setpoints andto move closer to constraints.

OPTIMAX® APC solutions offer a variety of tech-niques, from Model Predictive Control (linear and non-linear MPC) to state-space control with Kalman filters for state estimation. In addition, the ABB Inferential Modeling Platform with neural networkscan be used for designing data-driven models. Someexamples amongst the multiple available APC applica-tions,are:

OPTIMAX® Operations Systems

SSiimmuullaattiioonn,, VVaalliiddaattiioonn aanndd OOppttiimmiizzaattiioonnThe calculation of detailed performance values (pressures, temperatures, flows,etc.) at several hundred locations throughout the plant has become a standard requirement. Simulation models can be

easily designed using the PowerCycle tool to compute the expected plant equipment process values at current opera-tion mode. In addition,PowerCycle can also be used for "what-if" simula-

tions and for developing process optimization strate-gies.

Fig.5: PowerCycle model display for simulation,data validation and process optimization

Measurement inaccuracies are usually the reason whymass- and energy-balances are not consistent,neitherfor single components nor for the entire plant. Datavalidation with PowerCycle systematically computescorrections to obtain consistent energy balances,andsimultaneously indicates the inaccurate measurments.This improves the reliability of calculations and helpsthe maintenance crew in their calibration work.

RReessoouurrccee OOppttiimmiizzaattiioonnCompanies running power plants or desalinationplants need a sound basis on which to optimize theirunit loads (unit commitment) or trade energy on theopen market. Optimization strategies merely based onhuman know-how have become insufficient for com-panies operating multiple generation or cogenerationunits.

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A plant for combinedpower generation and des-alination in the Middle Easthas achieved more than 4%total fuel savings throughOPTIMAX® process opti-mization and load optimiza-tion.

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•Improved steam temperature control to reduce spray flow

•Condensate valve throttling to optimize reserve power availability

•Unit control under economically optimized con-ditions demanded by the load dispatcher

•Various advanced boiler controls for optimization of startup,combustion,emissions,heat rate,etc.

OOppeerraattoorr TTrraaiinniinngg SSiimmuullaattoorrssABB's Operator Training Simulators (OTS) are used totrain new plant operators, and refresh and deepen theknowledge of experienced plant personnel. Ultimate-ly, increased operator efficiency can be directly trans-lated into cost savings in the form of optimal plant operation under all conditions.

EEmmiissssiioonnss RReedduuccttiioonnThe Combustion Optimizer helps power plant man-agers optimize their combustion process and reduceemissions by improving boiler controls. A unique characteristic of the software is its ability "to learn andpredict", resulting in reduced response times to chang-ing conditions.Critical variables influencing the heatrate are excess O2 and the exhaust gas temperature.Past projects have reached up to 0.75% efficiencyimprovement while maintaining emission limits, there-by providing a return on investment of 1 to 2 years.

OPTIMAX® Environmental Systems

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The combination of OPTIMAX® monitoringand optimization soft-ware with ABB com-bustion instrumenta-tion, such as flame scanners,coal flowmeasurement and carbon-in-ash,provides total com-bustion management solutions.

Fig.8: Sootblowing Advisor

Fig.7: OPTIMAX® combustion management solutions

A large utility in the USAreported significant reduc-tions of NOx and Carbon-in-ash,while simultaneous-ly improving heat rate andmaintaining CO levels.

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Heat exchanger surfaces inside boilers continuous-ly degrade due to fouling caused by soot. Becauseof this, it is necessary to use sootblowing cleaningtechniques to recuperate these losses as much aspossible. The Sootblowing Advisor supports plantoperators and engineers in optimizing the currentplant sootblowing scheme,which by reducingsteam consumption, translates into significant fuelsavings.

The BBooiilleerrMMaaxx solution in OPTIMAX® was develo-ped by applying model-based closed-loop controland reduces boiler startup times. For a typical 700 MW coal-fired plant which frequently shutsdown during the year, this solution minimizes start-up times and reduces emissions with total cost savings of up to 10%.

Fig.9: Boiler startup optimization with BoilerMax

EEmmiissssiioonn MMoonniittoorriinnggThe measurement of hazardous emissions is in-creasing in importance and regulatory standardsare getting stricter every day. ABB provides emis-sion monitoring and reporting solutions utilizingpowerful infrared analyzer technology. Calibrationwithout the need of test gas bottles and remoteaccess reduce maintenance and total cost ofownership considerably.

OPTIMAX® Asset Lifecycle Systems

LLiiffeettiimmee MMoonniittoorriinnggDue to frequent start-up and shutdown procedures,as well as load cycles,numerous components ofpower generation systems aresubjected to cyclic stress.To determine and monitorthis service life consumption,OPTIMAX® Lifetime Monito-ring applications (e.g.Boiler-Life and TurbineLife) supportthe plant maintenance managers in improved main-tenance scheduling based on actual documentedservice life and provides operations with feed-backrelated to ramifications of the selected operationalmethods.

Fig.10: BoilerLife display

LLiiffeeccyyccllee OOppttiimmiizzaattiioonnIn today's energy markets it is important to con-sider emission costs as well as plant lifetime costs inthe optimization. The Lifecycle Optimizer takesequipment ageing into account,based on lifecyclemodels. It usesparameters suchas power pricesand emissioncredits or penal-ties calculatedagainst long-term mainte-nance costs to

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optimize economic plant performance. The advantageof this approach is the ability to include plant ageingmodels to find the optimal operational strategy bet-ween maintenance outages. This assists plant mana-gers in finding a trade-off between short-term profitsand long-term asset costs,especially when operatingunder environmental constraints.

OOppttiimmiizzeedd MMaaiinntteennaannccee SScchheedduulliinngg The OPTIMAX® parameter estimation technology is apowerful method which is particularly useful to im-prove equipment predictive maintenance. For exam-ple, the GT Compressor Wash Optimizer parameterestimation is used to estimate the natural degradationin gas turbine compressors and to optimize online andoffline compressor washing cycles.

Fig.11: GT Compressor Wash display

Fig.12: GT Gas Path Diagnosis display

OPTIMAX® Maintenance Systems

The same technology is used to diagnose the degrada-tion in the gas path of gas turbines. The GT Gas PathDiagnosis quantifies the probability of fouling,erosion,damage etc.within the engine's gas path. This im-proves predictive maintenance and decision supportfor maximizing efficient operating time, thus reducingperformance losses,and avoiding downtime.

MMaaiinntteennaannccee MMaannaaggeemmeennttWork preparation and planned condition-based main-tenance are increasingly important for reduction ofplant downtime costs. The Computerized Mainte-nance Management Systems (CMMS),provided in theOPTIMAX® portfolio,are designed to fulfill exactlythese requirements. Based on its experience in powerplant engineering, ABB has the expertise required forimplementing effective maintenance systems and inte-grating them into plant management systems,or Enter-prise Resource Planning systems (ERP).The benefit of ABB's CMMS solutions is to achieve andmaintain a high level of availability,quality and safetyof the plant. This applies to current plant operationbut is particularly valid for inspection,overhaul andservice activities.

Fig.13: Example CMMS displays

ABB

ABB Ltd. Business Unit Power GenerationP.O. Box 81318050 ZürichSWITZERLANDPhone: +41 (0) 43 317-5380Fax: +41 (0) 43 317-5382E-mail: PowerGeneration@ch.abb.comInternet: www.abb.com/powergeneration

Note:We reserve the right to make technical changes or modify the contents of this documentwithout prior notice. With regard to purchase orders, the agreed particulars shall prevail.ABB does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for potential errors or possible lack ofinformation in this document.

We reserve all rights in this document and in the subject matter and illustrations containedtherein. Any reproduction, disclosure to third parties or utilization of its contents - in whole or in parts - is forbidden without ABB's prior written consent.Copyright© 2006 ABBAll rights reserved

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x APIpro CMMS for complete maintenance management. x x x x x

x SAP PM interface Interface between a plant SAP and the PIMS system. x x x x x

x Analyst Graphic analysis tools for condition assessment of rotating machinery. x x x x x

x SpriteMAX Wireless data acquisition and fault diagnostic for rotating machinery. x x x x x

x Expert Advisor Automated condition diagnosis system for rotating machinery. x x x x x

x Carbon-in-Ash Real-time non-extractive determination of carbon content in ash. x

x PfMaster Online pulverized coal flow monitoring system. x

x EMI3000 Complete range of emission monitoring instruments and computer. x x x

x GT Emission Predictor Prediction of GT emissions based on load and weather conditions x

x GT Gas Path Diagnosis Probability based diagnosis of degradation effects in the GT gas path. x

x Loop Performance Monitor Monitoring of DCS control loop performance. x x x x x

x Performance Monitoring Monitoring of actual plant and equipment performance vs. expected. x x x x x

x PowerCycle Steady-state simulation, validation, opimization of process data. x x x

x PEMS Advanced online Pump Efficiency Monitoring System. x x x x x

x SensorVali Detection of sensor data deviations from normal operating trends. x x x

x Sootblowing Advisor Determination of where and when to blow soot in a boiler. x

x BoilerMax Closed-loop optimized boiler startup including dynamic constraints. x

x Combustion Optimizer Closed-loop combustion optimization to reduce emissions and losses. x x

x GT Compressor Wash Cost-optimized scheduling of GT compressor wash cycles. x

x BoilerLife Monitoring of life consumption of the boiler and its major components. x x x

x TurbineLife Monitoring of turbine life consumption. x x x

x Lifecycle Optimizer Load optimization for multiple units, including ageing and emission costs. x x x x x

x PowerFit Load optimization for multiple units, by minimizing total generation costs. x x x x

x MODAN APC unit control for coordinated operation of boiler and turbine. x

x CONDSTOP APC unit control option for reserve power generation by steam throttling. x

x Live Steam Calculator APC calculation of the live steam flow, to replace the measuring device. x

x State Space Controller APC for control of superheater temperature, better than PI controls. x

x TensoMax Calculation of steam turbine rotor stresses for startup, gradients, and limits. x x x

x OTS Different types of Operator Training Simulators. x x x x x

x Water Leakage Manager Water loss calculations using field instruments to quickly localize leakages. x