Heads-Up! March 5th is Training Day at the 2021 AOG conference

Variety of extended learning opportunities for powerplant end users

One of the distinguishing characteristics of annual meetings hosted by the Alstom Owners Group is its training courses. This year’s program, outlined below, features seven two-hour training sessions on Friday, March 5—all starting at 10:00. A good strategy might be to select the topics of greatest interest and assign plant personnel to monitor each of those sessions; then gather in the break room for a roundtable discussion of the highlights, best practices, lessons learned. Register today at no cost. 

To see details of what the training topics are, and who the instructors will be, please follow this link to the CCJ article:  

Combined Cycle Journal provides complete listing of Presenters at 2021 AOG Conference

AOG invites participation by ALL owner/operators in its annual meeting, starting March 1

March 1-5. Open to all powerplant owner/operators. Register today!

The steering committee for the fourth annual Alstom Owners Group (AOG) Users Conference welcomes participation by all owner/operators of gas and steam turbines in this year’s event, March 1 – 5. The majority of sessions from Tuesday (March 2) to Friday feature content pertaining to most types of turbines (see agenda below).

First step in securing your invitation is to register at www.aogusers.com; this only takes a couple of minutes. There is no registration fee. Questions? Contact conference coordinator Ashley Potts by email.

This year’s conference will be live-streamed globally from PSM’s headquarters in Jupiter, Fla. This location facilitates a virtual tour of PSM’s 105,000-ft² workshop and repair facility, complete with demonstrations at work stations of interest to owner/operators—including blade and vane repairs, additive manufacturing, flow testing, brazing of cobalt and nickel alloys, welding, and machining.

Conference agenda

Monday, March 1. The meeting opens at 8 a.m. (Eastern) with a two-hour user-only session focusing on the repair, service, and maintenance of GT8, GT11, GT13, and GT24/26 engines, with the underlying goal of increasing reliability and controlling costs. The program features formal presentation on the liberation of a GT26 high-pressure compressor blade and instrument failures between C cycles, followed by open discussion.

2021 AOG Steering Committee

    • Brian Vokal, Midland Cogeneration Venture
    • Robert Bell, Tenaska Berkshire Power
    • Chris Hutson, Southern Company
    • Pierre Ansmann, Arnold Group
    • Jeff Chapin, Liburdi Turbine Services

Discussion topics submitted by users include the following at this time:

    • Recommendations related to the installation and operation of dehumidification systems, plus lessons learned.
    • Experience in the 11N1 fleet with the hardwired pressure switch for starting the emergency dc lube-oil pump. User seeking guidance says he is not getting sufficient pressure drop across the manifold while simulating this low-pressure event to perform an emergency dc lube-oil function test.
    • Rotor life management—repair or replace?
    • Operating experience with replacement rotors manufactured by a third party (photo).
    • Sharing of experiences with third-party vendors, especially in component repair (delivery issues, lag time, lack of availability, etc).
    • Review of recent Technical Information Letters and other OEM notifications.
    • Inspection methodology.
    • Maintenance challenges.
    • Inspection experiences (bearings, SB burners, EV combustor, etc).
    • Re-commissioning challenges—cold and hot.

OEM participation following the user discussion session includes a formal presentation on generator maintenance and recommendations followed by Q&A.

Tuesday, March 2. A keynote presentation on cybersecurity by Mark Liggett of IGI kicks off the day at 7 a.m. Eastern. The topic: Evolving attacks threaten electric-system reliability. MD&A follows at 8 with a 30-min presentation of its generator capabilities. Half-hour sessions hosted by Pioneer Motor Bearing, TRS Global, Camfil, Doosan, and Power Services Group (PSG) follow. A vendor fair for the day’s presenters from 11 to 1 p.m. closes out the Tuesday program.

Wednesday, March 3. Presentations by solutions providers begin at 7 a.m. and conclude at 10, when the two-hour vendor fair for Wednesday presenters begins. The lineup of 30-min presentations: Liburdi Turbine, EPRI, Emerson, Rochem, Hughes Technical Services, and AGTServices.

Thursday, March 4 features the same program arrangement as Wednesday, with the following companies participating: PSM, Arnold Group, Major Tool and Machine, National Electric Coil, GCMS, and Noxco. 

Friday, March 5, training day, begins at 7 a.m. with a 90-min shop tour of PSM’s facilities. Six concurrent two-hour training sessions follow. The hosts are Liburdi on gas-turbine condition assessment, Camfil on GT inlet filtration, Pioneer Motor Bearing on bearings, Emerson on control systems, AIM Power Consulting on long-term service agreements, and Hughes Technical Services on P13/blueline control system training.  

Access www.aogusers.com for program updates and other announcements.

Posted in Alstom Owners Group 

On-Site Turbine Repair Services

If it is beneficial to you to have turbine component repairs performed on-site, we offer our portable equipment to be ready when components are removed from the turbine.  Contact us today to reserve our portable repair equipment for your next turbine outage.

We are ready for your Journal and Shaft Machining Projects this outage season!

We have successfully repaired thousands of shafts and bearing journals in power and industrial facilities across the globe over the past 25 years. Our unique, on-site machining process requires absolutely no need for shaft rotation, and avoids the issues related to removing and shipping equipment to a shop: costly mobilizations, exorbitant shipping costs, potential damage during shipment, valuable lay down space, and plant crane and rigging requirements. Our finely tuned and safe processes coupled with a full range of equipment ensure customers receive the highest quality at a competitive price. If you have a journal or shaft machining project, planned or emergent, please contact us 24/7/365 for a fast response.

Alstom Owners Group Virtual Conference

The 2021 Alstom Owners Group Virtual Conference schedule is posted.  It will be a great week of technical knowledge sharing on the Alstom Gas and Steam Turbine fleet.  Please register today to reserve your spot.  The sessions are free for any Alstom equipment owners/operators.

For registration and schedule details please visit aogusers.com

Steam Turbine Inspection & Repair Services

Turn-Key Inspections

Power Services Group (PSG) has the ability to provide full turnkey inspections on steam turbine generators for most OEM manufacturers. PSG provides total turnkey outage performance including technical direction, engineering, project management & coordination, supervision, labor, tooling, repairs, parts sourcing and/or manufacturing, and start-up support. We support fossil and nuclear steam turbines ranging from 1MW to 1,300MW for all major OEMs. We service all industry types including, but not limited to: industrial, paper/pulp, marine, steel/aluminum, chemical and petrochemical, utility, nuclear, and independent power producers.

Services Provided: Common Repair Services:
  • Open, Clean, Inspect, Close (Outage Services)
  • Valve & Bearing Inspection and Repairs
  • Steam Path Component Inspection and Repairs
  • Major Overhaul Planning and Execution
  • Shop Repair Services
  • Field Repair Services
  • Forced Outage Responsiveness
  • Multi-Year Service Agreements
  • Engineering/Consulting
  • Reverse Engineering
  • Parts Manufacturing
  • Generator Inspection, Testing, and Repair
  • Running Condition Assessments
  • Unit Installation/Relocation
  • Nozzle and Diaphragm Refurbishment
  • Blade Ring Refurbishment
  • Seal and Packing Machining and Replacement
  • NDE Services
  • Dish Removal and Re-rounding Services
  • Blade/Bucket Replacement
  • Erosion Shield Replacement
  • Lashing Lug Weld Repair
  • Tennon Welding and Refurbishment
  • Cover Replacement
  • Bore Plug Removal and Installation
  • Balancing Services
  • Valve Reconditioning
  • In-House Nitriding Services
  • Stellite Application Services

 

 

 

In-House Gas Nitriding

We have in-house nitriding capabilities to provide you with a quick turnaround of your critical components.  Gas nitriding is a surface hardening process, where nitrogen is added to the surface of steel parts using dissociated ammonia as the source. Gas nitriding develops a very hard case in a component at relatively low temperature, without the need for quenching. As a result, a very high strength product with extremely good wear resistance can be produced, with little or no dimensional change. For valve components, these material enhancements translate into increased durability and service life and ultimately, reduced maintenance cost.  

Please contact us today to discuss when we could nitride your component and how we can expedite all of your future component nitriding needs.   We have the capability to nitride around the clock, providing you with more opportunities to nitride your components at a schedule that is convenient for you.  Our nitriding oven can accommodate components up to 38″ in diameter and 100″ in length.

We look forward to working with you for all your critical component needs.

Alstom GT8 & GT11 – A, B, & C Inspections

Power Services Group (PSG) provides comprehensive maintenance, repair and overhaul support for Alstom-manufactured GT8 & GT11 gas turbines used in the power generation, oil & gas and industrial markets.

From single engine owners to large fleet operators, Power Services Group ensures that owners and operators of Alstom gas turbines receive high-quality, innovative and cost-effective solutions that are tailored to the needs of their individual operational goals.

We offer expert field services for borescope inspections, planned and unplanned maintenance, and unit troubleshooting. Our supply chain partners provide advanced technology component repair service and capital part manufacturing solutions.

Experience Matters – We have completed over 120 outages on Alstom GT8/GT11 equipment, providing you with an experienced service provider for your Alstom Gas Turbines.

Please contact us today to discuss how we can help you with your next A, B, or C inspection on your GT8 or GT11 equipment.

January Safety Update

We’ve completed the month of January with zero OSHA-recordable injuries and have a TRIR of 0.00 for the year. We continue to be proactive in identifying potential hazards and maintaining our safety-first mindset. Great job by our HSE Director, Shannon Scruggs, and each one of our Project Management teams for engraining our safety culture throughout the teams working at site. Nice job everybody!

Steam Turbine Blade/Bucket Replacements

If you have any upcoming steam turbine blade/bucket replacement projects please contact us today to receive a budgetary estimate on the cost and schedule for that project.  Our organization is comprised of highly qualified people who have the necessary experience to perform steam turbine blade/bucket replacements at the highest level of quality. We believe that having quality personnel makes an organization great, and have hired some of the best people in the industry to better serve our customers.  We look forward to earning an opportunity to work with you on your next steam turbine blade/bucket replacement project.

To see a video of a low-speed balance performed at our repair facility please click on the below photo:

More examples of blade/bucket replacements in progress: