Project: Design and
Engineering - 48 MW Power Plant
Dates: December 2000 to May
2001
Description: Green field
construction of a 16 reciprocating gas engine plant to generate on-demand power
for California’s Independent System Operator during peek demand times.
Firm’s Role: To provide civil,
architectural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services along with field
and logistical support for the design, construction, commissioning of the power
plant.
Status: Project complete, plant
went online one month prior to schedule.
Project: Development of a
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) Program For a Geothermal Power
Plant
Dates: February 2000 to September
2001
Description: A DOE funded project
to development for the first time a reliability centered maintenance program for
a geothermal power plant in an effort to make renewable energy production more
competitive.
Firm’s Role: To provide
managerial and technical support in the development of this program. Tasks to
include identifying a suitable database program and condition monitoring
equipment, provide guidance on plant asset hierarchy development and asset
prioritization, and any engineering support necessary to evaluate equipment
condition and develop inspection intervals.
Status: Project complete.
Project: Analysis and
Solutions - Evaluation of a University Medical Center Main Hospital
Condensate Return
Dates: February 2000 to March
2000
Description: Evaluate existing
condition of the Main Hospital condensate piping system, determine possible
effects it could have on Central Plant performance, and recommend mitigative
solutions to prevent any damage to Central Plant components.
Firm’s Role: To identify current
condition of Main Hospital Condensate, evaluate condensate return system, and
specify piping changes and a chemical treatment system.
Status: Project complete.
Submitted condensate analysis results, recommended changes to return system, and
specified a chemical treatment system for the Main Hospital to the client.
Project: Research &
Development - Development of a Thermal Sag Mitigator for Transmission
Lines
Dates: July 1999 to 2001
Description: Research,
development, and demonstration of a device to mitigate thermal line sag in
transmission lines.
Firm’s Role: Perform all
engineering aspects to develop a sagging line mitigator device for prototyping
and demonstration.
Status: Project underway. Scale
prototypes have been built and proof of concept demonstrated. Full scale
commercial version of device is under final development.
1999
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Project: Analysis and
Solutions/Design and Engineering of a Bed Removal System Upgrade
Dates: April 1999 to August
1999
Description: Evaluate existing
fluidized bed removal system and design an upgrade to the system to eliminate
thermal and corrosion related problems and improve safety.
Firm’s Role: To investigate and
determine causes for current removal system problems and design an upgrade to
the system by optimizing piping arrangement, piping components, piping material,
and operational procedures.
Status: Project complete.
Submitted construction drawings and operational procedures to client.
Project: Analysis and
Solutions - Investigating Bearing Failures in Gas Turbines
Dates: March 1999 to May 1999
Description: To determine the
root causes for the failure of and the high operating temperature of gas turbine
bearings in several units.
Firm’s Role: Gather required data
from OEM, operating history, and inspection reports to determine the root causes
for the bearing problems and propose future activities to alleviate problem.
Status: Project complete.
Submitted report identifying the lube oil system as probable cause for bearing
problems.
Project: Analysis and
Solutions - Life Assessment of a Reaction Turbine in a Compressor Gas
Turbine
Dates: February 1999 to March
2000
Description: Gather required data
and oversee the development of models to assess the condition of RT for its life
extension by another firm.
Firm’s Role: Gather required data
and information needed to oversee a life assessment/extension evaluation for the
reaction turbine to delay overhaul and replacement activities.
Status: Project complete.
Approved work completed by another firm to model and assess the condition of the
RT.
Project: Analysis and
Solutions - Investigating the Use of an Isolation Sealant to Protect Turbine
Rotor Blade-Fits
Dates: January 1999 to April
2000
Description: Research into
finding a suitable sealant either by locating an existing product or by
formulating a new product that demonstrate the necessary properties to seal a
blade-fit area of a geothermal turbine rotor against a high temperature
corrosive environment.
Firm’s Role: Performed survey of
geothermal operators to assist in developing universal sealant specifications,
searched and acquired existing candidate sealants from industry. Performing
field and lab tests to assess each candidate sealants applicability and issue
report on findings.
Status: Project complete. Report
submitted to DOE on results of project.
Project: Mitigating
Corrosion Related Damage in Geothermal Facilities
Dates: July 1998 to August
2000
Description: Research into
developing technology and methodology to mitigate debilitating forms of
corrosion related damage from occurring in geothermal power plants.
Firm’s Role: Designed and
constructed a portable corrosion research field lab to test various monitoring
technologies at different geothermal sites, develop and test monitoring
technologies for further research.
Status: Project complete. Report
submitted to DOE on results of project.
1998 2007 - 2006 - 2005 -
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Project: Analysis and
solutions - Nozzle Cracking Study for Gas Turbine Compressors
Dates: March 1996 to December
1998
Description: A comprehensive
detailed analysis of nozzle cracking problem for gas turbine compressors.
Firm’s Role: Performed detailed
1-D fluid dynamics and heat transfer analysis to support state-of-the-art 3-D
finite element non-linear analyses of nozzle models to investigate causes to the
nozzle cracking problem.
Status: Project complete. Issued
report on ground breaking discoveries into the operating condition of the gas
turbine compressors, preparing to publish an article addressing this issue with
the gas transmission industry.
Project: Analysis and
Solutions - Condition Assessment of a Turbine Rotor
Dates: January to June 1998
Description: Stress analysis of
Tiwi Unit #6 3rd stage for current condition and options to reduce
operating stresses.
Firm’s Role: Developed finite
element models of original stage design and current condition, perform stress
analyses of developed models to determine operating stresses, and conduct a
preliminary investigation into options which will reduce operating stresses.
Status: Project complete.
Analyses were performed and results were compiled in a report. Recommendations
were made as to which options would benefit the condition of the rotor best.
Project: Design Evaluation
of an Electronic Ball Grid Array Contactor
Dates: October 1997 to May
1998
Description: Design review of a
proprietary electronic contactor for testing electronic circuit boards using
ball grid arrays.
Costs: $15K
Firm’s Role: Modeled and analyzed
using finite element techniques the proprietary contactor design shapes for
acceptability with ball grid array constraints.
Status: Project complete.
Analyses identified problems with all proposed contactor shapes and material
selection. Recommendations were made to develop a working design for the
contactor.
1997
2007 - 2006 - 2005 -
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Project: Evaluation of a
Fluidized Boiler Bed Removal System
Dates: November 1997 to December
1997
Description: Evaluate existing
fluidized bed system and develop recommendations to alleviate the effect of
system aging on process efficiency.
Firm’s Role: To investigate and
determine causes for bed removal system problems and propose solutions to
them.
Status: Project complete.
Submitted final report identifying problem areas and proposed solutions to
them.
Project: Analysis of a Coal
De-Gasification Reactor
Dates: February to March 1997
Description: Design review of a
proprietary coal charring process unit to determine compliance with mechanical
and thermal loads.
Firm’s Role: Performed finite
element analysis to determine mechanical and thermal stress levels and compared
with allowable levels. Specified material & method of construction for
assuring long term integrity.
Status: Project completed.
Analysis identified problem areas in the reactor design for which
recommendations were made for alternative designs and material selection.
Project: Research to Find
Alternative Material for Encoder Tape
Dates: December 1996 to February
1997
Description: Research to improve
the position measurement of automatic elevator encoder tape systems by
evaluating the use of new materials and geometries for the encoder tapes.
Firm’s Role: Conducted research
into lower cost tape materials which still met required performance criteria and
different geometrical designs for the encoder tape.
Status: Project completed.
Research concluded that no alternative cost effective materials existed for this
application, recommended new geometrical designs for consideration.
Project: Bolt/Stud
Ultrasonic Testing Research
Dates: May to September 1997
Description: Development of field
inspection techniques to detect flaws or cracks in critical bolt studs of
reciprocating engines and compressors.
Firm’s Role: Identified bolts and
studs critical to system operation, estimated flaw sizes for
inspection/detection by Ultrasonic Testing (UT) on review of historical data,
developed reliable manual UT inspection technique, field testing and training
for maintenance personnel, and coordination, final report, and project
management.
Status: Project complete. Final
report issued with inspection technique recommendations and training
procedures.
Project: Non-Intrusive
Alternatives to Reciprocating Compressor Overhaul
Dates: August to September
1997
Description: Continuation of
previous work in addressing the condition based maintenance program for
reciprocating compressor and critical components not accessible for
non-intrusive inspection.
Firm’s Role: Reviewed past
overhaul activities and OEM recommended inspections and developed a list of all
components inspected. A description of potential failure and failure
consequences was compiled for each of the components on the list.
Status: Project complete. Final
report issued containing revised condition based maintenance program including
all newly identified critical components and recommendations on implementation
of revised program.
Project: Heat Shield
Failure at Burney K-2 Compressor Station
Dates: April to May 1997
Description: An evaluation of a
heat shield failure in a gas turbine compressor.
Firm’s Role: Performed an
investigation of heat shield component failures by field inspection and review
of operation and overhaul histories to identify causes for failure and make
recommendations for future prevention.
Status: Project complete. Report
issued detailing causes of failure and corrective actions needed to prevent
recurrence of problems.
1996/.. 2006 - 2005 -
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Project: Support of
Acoustic Emission Research
Dates: June to August 1996
Description: To develop stress
time histories at selected locations of a Primary Superheat Outlet Header of the
Unit 6 Boiler at PG&E’s Pittsburg Power Plant for operational and field
testing events.
Firm’s Role: Developed finite
element models of super heater header to be used with field gathered operational
data to perform simulations to compare results against acoustic emission
monitoring results.
Status: Project complete. Full
report issued with all results compiled for comparison.
Project: Plant Process and
Equipment Review to Reduce Maintenance and Production Cost
Dates: February to March 1996
Description: Review and
evaluation of an aluminum can manufacturing plant’s heavy equipment and
recommendations to reduce maintenance and production costs.
Firm’s Role: Performed field
inspections of equipment, interviewed equipment operators, reviewed OEM manuals
and drawings, and reviewed process history to make recommendations to the plant
engineering staff on equipment condition and developing a condition based
maintenance program.
Status: Project complete. Issued
full report on results and recommendations.
Project: Study of
Non-Intrusive NDE Methods for Reciprocating Compressors and Pressure Vessels’
Condition based Maintenance Program
Dates: September to December
1996
Description: To review PG&E’s
reciprocation gas compressors’ condition based maintenance program to identify
critical components left off and investigate non-intrusive NDE methods to asses
the condition of these components.
Firm’s Role: Identified
compressor components of major concern and failure potential, identified
components to be added to condition based maintenance program, identified needs
for new time-based inspection intervals over and above existing program, and
identified areas for research to further improve the current inspections and
make them capable of assessing the condition of all major components of a
reciprocating compressor.
Status: Project complete. Issued
full report describing all findings, recommendations to continue research to
develop NI-NDE tools for major compressor components.
Project: Evaluating
Scanning Thermography technology for Use as an NDE Tool
Dates: January to December
1996
Description: To monitor and
evaluate a new NDE technology, scanning thermography, for its potential use to
exam power plant boiler wall and superheated tubes for damage.
Firm’s Role: Contacted and worked
with vendor to understand and learn about the technology and conduct testing on
tube samples for evaluation. Also researched the technology independently of the
vendor for further evaluation.
Status: Project complete. Issued
final report summarizing findings and recommending future activities to develop
and demonstrate scanning thermography for PG&E’s boiler water wall
inspections.
Project: Causes and
Behavior of Internal and External Stub weld Cracks
Dates: January 1995 to April
1996
Description: Research was
performed to investigate stub weld failures in power plant boiler headers and
determine the root cause for these failures.
Firm’s Role: Develop techniques
to model internal and external cracks in stub welds, study stub weld crack
behavior under different operating conditions, determine effect of ligament
cracks, and various operations on stub weld cracking, and determine interaction
between external and internal stub weld cracks.
Status: Project Complete. Issued
full report describing root cause for internal and external stub weld cracking
and recommendations for further research into the root cause and methods for
mitigation.
Project: De-Superheating
Alternatives Project of a Power Plant
Dates: October 1994 to May
1996
Description: Research to
determine and develop methods/technology to replace existing steam scrubbing
technology with a more cost effective and energy efficient process.
Firm’s Role: Designed,
fabricated, installed, tested, and verified a portable lab for The Geysers
capable of simulating steam turbine conditions at first moisture. Assembled
rotor steel modified wedge opening load coupons with load bolt and back face
strain gages for continuous crack growth measurement and with various noble
metals as corrosion potential probes. Developed a test plan and tested to
identify steam conditions leading to stress corrosion cracking of rotor
steel.
Status: PG&E’s sponsorship of
project completed in 1996. Testing has resumed under sponsorship of the U.S.
Department of Energy with cooperative efforts from PG&E and UNOCAL.
Project: Re-Inspection
Interval for a Power Plant Hot Reheat Piping
Dates: December 1995 to January
1996
Description: Provided information
needed to establish re-inspection intervals for Power Plant Unit 3
seam-welded hot reheat piping. Project utilized current remaining life
estimating software and guidelines.
Firm’s Role: To evaluate each
state-of-the-art software program for applicability to client’s problem and
apply results to determine proper re-inspection intervals.
Status: Project completed.
Re-inspection intervals were implemented to reduce unnecessary maintenance costs
and increase reliability and safety.
Project: Evaluation of the
Unit #12 Main Steam Shock Event
Dates: March 1996
Description: Performed cursory
evaluation of the Unit 12 main steam line which suffered a transient during
start-up and advised plant operators on areas for inspection.
Firms Role: Field inspections,
review of piping and support layout, shock load calculations, and
recommendations to prevent recurrence of similar events.
Status: Project completed.
Further investigation pursued by client following our recommendations.
Project: Design, analysis,
and construction management of an offshore fuel stripping system to remove
diesel and heavy fuel.
Dates: Mid 94 to January 1996
Description: Design and engineer
a new fuel stripping system for the offshore facility for the Potrero power
plant to assure environmentally safe and reliable operations.
Firms Role: Design and engineered
complete piping system/supports, specified pumping and valving requirements and
developed complete operating procedures. Acted as construction management for
installation and testing of the new system.
Status: Project completed. System
installed and tested successfully.
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