For decades, the only feasible way to test plant equipment during the design and engineering process, before installation and operation, was scale model testing. This process involved creating a model of the equipment being designed, to scale, and then in a lab setting, test the design in conditions similar to… Read More
In the industrial sector, it can feel like efficiency is the only thing we ever talk about. Obviously, it’s important — but in order to maximize the efficiency of our plants and our equipment, we must first understand the definition of efficiency for each piece of equipment, as well as… Read More
Today, many older power plants are operating under conditions that are different from when they were originally constructed. The plants have been modified over the years to meet evolving demands, but these changes have often been approached in a piecemeal fashion, introducing inefficiencies into the total system. In many of… Read More
System losses, other than those of the boiler and ancillary equipment of the boiler, are normally a result of the total pressure losses from friction in the ductwork, elbows, changes in duct cross-sectional area, and losses associated with emissions control equipment. A certain amount of loss is unavoidable, but losses… Read More
Many factors drive modern plants to make process equipment changes during outage season. Two of the most common are 1) demands for increased production and 2) process variable changes. Centrifugal fans used throughout the power production process are frequently the subjects of these changes. What follows is an account of… Read More
Last fall, we completed an air handling project for the Steel Dynamics steel plant in Columbus, Miss., that earned them a $2.5 million check from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the state of Mississippi. The plant updates also promise to save the plant about $2 million a year when maintenance reduction… Read More
While there is a lot of talk about draft fan efficiency improvements, we often lose sight of how efficiency is derived and defined. Moreover, RFPs often call for efficiency ratings without stipulating qualifications and constraints. As a result, competing fans are evaluated according to incongruous efficiency ratings and projects are… Read More
We recently developed an air handling system for a brownfield redevelopment project in Antioch, California, which really brought into focus our thinking about our total systems approach to air handling equipment. First and foremost, consider that the redeveloped plant: Was to have a net output of 930 megawatts Was to… Read More
