Condenser Modifications and Consulting

Condenser modifications/retrofits are the final stage of Bionetics’ four step process. A reduction of condensing pressure results from engineering design changes to the condenser. As examples, condenser performance improvements can be achieved by reducing hydraulic losses between the turbine exhaust and tube bundle or reducing the amount of air binding inherent to the design of the condenser. These changes can take place with or without a condenser retube however, condenser retubing outages are golden opportunities for significant performance upgrades via the retrofit process.

Once a project has been initiated, the plant receives all the information needed to perform modifications to the condenser. Where appropriate, Bionetics provides detailed modeling and generates drawings, parts lists and installation instructions for the plant to perform the modification or bid out to construction firms. The modifications take into account all the information gained during the first three stages, with emphasis on minimizing the time needed for the modification.

Customers who take advantage of the entire process stand to recognize huge gains for their plants.  An example is a recent modification that was performed on Entergy’s Little Gypsy Unit 2. This peaking plant had major concerns about high DO, especially at low load. After implementing the Bionetics designed modifications, DO was reduced from 22 ppm at 5% load to only 5 ppm. At 25% of full load DO dropped below the measurable level of the plant’s instrumentation.

Short List of Recommended Criteria for Selecting a Condenser Candidate (one or more of the following):

1. Load limited operations believed to be condenser performance related (e.g. summer month load curtailment)
2. Future plans to upgrade circulating water system via anti fouling system or flow alteration.
3. History of tube failures (or decision to change copper alloy tubes to other more immune material such as SS or Ti)
4. Retubing in the near future – 1 yr minimum
5. Chronic low cleanliness factors
6. Chronic elevated DO >10ppb at the CPD

The condensers most widely studied by Bionetics so far have been Westinghouse, Southwestern Engineering, Worthington, Ingersoll-Rand and Foster Wheeler Condensers (Retrofits have already been completed on several designs).

Some of the most popular condenser services available from Bionetics include:

• Condenser Performance Testing

  Quantifies key performance parameters including: total cooling water flow, excess back pressure, cleanliness factor, percent of tubes obstructed among others

• Cooling Water CFD Analysis

  Identify cooling water flow problems such as clogging/fouling and waterbox design-related issues

• LVRP or SJAE Capacity Testing

  Evaluation of vacuum equipment capacity and performance against design values to determine potential condenser performance impact (e.g., excess air in-leak)

• Performance Training for Engineers and Managers

  Bionetics’ condenser experts provide training on key concepts of condenser design and how to diagnose potential condenser problems

Use the form on this page to send your system information today for us to review the condenser problems/issues you wish to address.