POWER August 2021 - 31

CONNECTED PLANT
This has been no trivial task considering
the high transient speed vibration peaks
that have to be individually monitored to
ensure a successful run-up.
The new system installed to replace
6. Two racks installed on Unit 1 showing the legacy Compass Classic monitoring system from
1994 (left), and the VC-8000 Setpoint installation in 2019 (center and right). Courtesy: B&K Vibro
ing small changes in the generator rotor
unbalance, together with the condition
of the bearings, it is possible to defer
generator balancing by several months
to a more favorable load period.
Transient Speed Monitoring. Setpoint
can accurately monitor resonances and
critical speeds during run-up and activate
relays when limits are exceeded. Monitoring
is done on the entire drive train,
but is particularly important for the generator.
Similar to the differential expansion
monitoring, the alert relays for transient
speed monitoring are programmed in
the DCS to reduce speed if the vibration
amplitude exceeds the alert limits. The
unit will trip if the danger limits are exceeded.
As in the case for the differential
expansion, the predictive maintenance
engineer is notified to do diagnostic root
cause analysis, if there is an alert alarm
issued or the unit is tripped.
Safe and Efficient Operation
Huntly Power Station has been providing
reliable energy for more than 40 years,
and the legacy monitoring solution has
played an important part within the last
25 years in keeping these aging units
running safely with minimal disruption.
the obsolete system on Unit 1 also provided
enhanced transient speed monitoring,
as well as specialized balancing
capability, and differential thermal expansion
monitoring coupled to the DCS. In
addition to this, there was also PI data
historian interface plus remote monitoring
access and system configuration.
Plans are currently underway to look at
the possibility of installing Setpoint on
Unit 5 (the 385-MW combined cycle unit)
as the operation of this unit changes from
baseload to two-shifting operation. ■
-Simon Hurricks is the predictive maintenance
engineer with Genesis Energy. He
has been with Genesis and its predecessors
for 50 years, and has been based at
Huntly Power Station for the last 40 years.
Mike Hastings is a senior application
engineer at B&K Vibro, based in Denmark,
and has been with the company for 30
years. He has helped develop various
machine monitoring strategies
and optimization techniques.
efficient and individual solutions
DRY COOLERS FOR ENERGY AND POWER PLANT APPLICATIONS
© FST Industrie | Siemens Energy
PROJECT: NORDLINK
 the " green cable " → energy distribution between Norway
(hydropower) and Germany (wind energy) via a submarine
cable
 14 power plant coolers (TMDH), cooling capacity: 11 MW
 successful commissioning in 2020
PROJECT: BORWIN 3
 off shore windpark: DC link with 900 megawatts
160 kilometres long, converter station Emden/Ost (Germany)
 11 dry coolers V-shape (TDD), cooling capacity: 10 MW
 successful commissioning in 2019
thermofin GmbH · Am Windrad 1 · 08468 Heinsdorfergrund · Germany
phone +49 3765 3800 0 · info@thermofin.de · www.thermofin.de
August 2021 | POWER
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POWER August 2021

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