Steam Path Audits on Industrial Steam Turbines

Abstract

The electric utility industry has benefitted from steam path audits on steam turbines for several years. Benefits include the ability to identify areas of performance degradation during a turbine outage. Repair priorities can then be set in accordance with quantitative results from the steam path audit. As a result of optimized repair decisions, turbine efficiency increases, emissions decrease, and maintenance expenses decrease. These benefits can be achieved by using a computer program Encotech, Inc. developed for the utility industry to perform steam path audits. With the increased emphasis on industrial turbine efficiency, and as a result of the experience with the Destec Operating Company, Encotech is adapting the computer program to respond to the needs of the industrial steam turbine community. This paper describes the results of using the STPE computer program to conduct a steam path audit at Destec Energy's Lyondell Cogeneration power plant.