Siemens H: uprate and commercial
release follow design validation
Update on the Siemens SGT5-8000H, currently the world’s largest gas turbine
Reprint from
Modern Power Systems, September 2009
Authors:
Willibald J Fischer and Steven Abens, Siemens Energy, Erlangen, Germany
Answers for energy.
GAS TURBINE
TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
GAS
Siemens H: uprate and commercial
release follow design validation
PAST
Update on the Siemens SGT5-8000H, currently the world’s largest gas turbine
Willibald J Fischer and Steven Abens, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany
F
ollowing extensive design and product testing and validation at
Irsching the key performance parameters of the SGT5-8000H gas
turbine have been found to meet or even exceed expectations. Based
on careful evaluation of test data and comparison with design
predictions, we have uprated the machine as follows:
Introductory rating
Output
Efficiency
New rating
Output
Efficiency
SGT5-8000H
(simple cycle)
SCC5-8000H 1S
(single shaft
combined cycle)
340 MW
39%
530 MW
>60%
375 MW
40%
570 MW
>60%
PRESENT
H test
facility
Based on the positive experience resulting from the 18 month test phase at
Irsching 4, Siemens is now in a position to offer the 8000H system to the
power generation market for commercial applications.
This is the culmination of a programme that started nine years ago, with
the following milestones, all achieved on time:
Programme Launch - Concept Phase
Gate 1: Product Strategy
Gate 2: Start Basic Design (GT)
Gate 3: Product Release (GT)
1st engine shipment, from Berlin
1st fire at Irsching 4 test centre
1st synchronisation to grid
1st achievement of baseload power
End of test & validation phase
Gate 4: Commercial release
October 2000
March 2001
November 2001
August 2004
April 2007
December 2007
March 2008
April 2008
Summer of 2009
2009
A remarkable feature of the programme to date is that Full Speed Full Load
was achieved a mere nine operating days after synchronisation, with the
first-build version of the engine. Also, right from the first start ignition has
been stable and reliable.
The engine has been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the
“largest functioning gas turbine.”
Validation process
To minimise the risks associated with introducing new technology, in
particular advanced gas turbines, comprehensive test and validation has
been central to the SGT5-8000H programme. This has included tests on
prototype parts during the design phase, followed by sub-system validation
such as atmospheric and high pressure combustion testing, as well as fullscale, 60 Hz compressor validation.
The individual component, sub-system and then engine tests were
performed in the Siemens Berlin test centre and at several other test facilities.
Key parameters, such as the compressor pressure ratio and aerodynamic
efficiency, temperatures of hot gas path parts, characteristics of combustion
dynamics, engine output, vibration and emissions, were validated and
demonstrated.
But the crucial phase of validation is engine operation under real power
plant conditions. Preparation for this phase started as early as 2005 with the
installation of about 3000 sensors in and on the prototype engine during
manufacture. In addition to the standard instrumentation associated with the
normal gas turbine I&C system, these sensors measure temperatures,
pressures, strains, flows, acceleration, and vibrations encountered during
part load and base load operation and enable engineers to compare the design
models with the actual engine response. Two telemetry systems, located at
© Siemens Energy, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved.
Irsching 4
SCC5-8000H
Irsching 5
SCC5-4000F 2x1
FUTURE
PAST: Irsching in 2005, showing units 1-3 (commissioned in the early 70s,
originally built to burn HFO with No 2 as back-up, later converted to gas
(with No 2 remaining as back-up). PRESENT: Irsching site in August 2009,
with, from left to right, units 1-3, H test facility and unit 5 (CCGT under
construction). Unit 1 is closed down, unit 2 is in cold standby and unit 3 is
used for peaking. FUTURE: The site in 2011
the turbine bearing as well as the intermediate shaft at the compressor end,
delivered some 600 additional signals from the rotor.
The partner for this extensive validation project was E.ON Kraftwerke,
under a unique contract negotiated to give Siemens maximum flexibility in
testing the new gas turbine, while enabling E.ON to add the world’s first
combined cycle plant with 60% efficiency to its fleet.
The Irsching power plant site was selected for this common project due
to its existing infrastructure and location within the HV grid.
The contract defines two stages. During the first stage, Siemens built a
gas turbine power plant in a simple cycle configuration and operated this
plant for 18 months for testing purposes under the terms of a hosting
agreement.
For the first stage the following configuration was adopted:
• single shaft arrangement, with provision for addition of a steam turbine
connected the single generator;
• water cooled generator (SGEN5-3000W)
• temporary exhaust stack;
• fuel gas supply connection to the E.ON Ruhrgas pipeline and fuel transfer
station;
• auxiliary systems for gas turbine and generator;
September 2009 Modern Power Systems
| 3
GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
GAS
TECHNOLOGY
Irsching 4 schedule. First build was the version as manufactured in
2005/2006. The second build included improved components in some
areas of the hot gas path, in particular with the aim of reducing cooling
air requirements. Final build is the version identified during the text
phase as the configuration for commercial application
This control room display shows first achievement of baseload
with 2nd build, 7/11/08
Extension to CC plant and
CC test operation
START PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
PHASE 1 – SGT5-8000H OPEN CYCLE
BEGIN EXCAVATION WORK
ENGINE SHIPPED
FIRST FIRING
FIELD VALIDATION & ENGINE TESTING
COMMISSIONING & BUILD 1 TESTING
BUILD 2 OUTAGE
BUILD 2 TESTING
GT-plant test operation
Thermal
paint
outage
Final
build
outage
ENDURANCE TESTING
CC
EXTENSION
PHASE 2 – COMBINED CYCLE EXTENSION
• unit transformer connected to the E.ON grid;
• electrical auxiliary power supply, MV and LV switchgear and I&C
systems;
• test and control centre for plant operation; and
• turbine building with large capacity cranes.
Preparations for civil works on the foundations started in mid 2006 and
initial steelwork started in January 2007.
The second phase of the contract, which started after completion of the
18 month test phase and demonstration of the contractually defined
performance of the gas turbine, requires the extension of the simple cycle
configuration to a single shaft combined cycle power plant. This is to be
commissioned and handed over to the customer as under the terms of a
“standard” EPC arrangement.
To operate the gas turbine during the 18 month test period, additional
contracts, with the gas provider and for the sale of electricity, were
implemented. The gas contract did not stipulate any minimum gas
consumption. The electricity sales contract covered any power which was
produced by operation of the gas turbine. Both these contractual
arrangements allowed maximum testing flexibility for validation of the gas
turbine (without such constraints as a commercial availability guarantee).
The prototype engine was shipped from the Siemens gas turbine
manufacturing plant in Berlin at the end of April 2007 and was placed on
the foundation at the Irsching 4 site at the end of May 2007.
During engine installation, a considerable quantity of additional
instrumentation, such as externally-mounted blade vibration sensors,
pyrometers, tip clearance and flow field probes as well as two infrared
turbine blade monitoring cameras, was installed.
Concurrent with erection of the power plant, test facilities including the
extensive data acquisition system (DAS) were added. The DAS set-up was
not limited to the Irsching site. A dedicated encrypted data network
connecting the Irsching test centre and the engineering headquarters in
Muelheim, Germany, and Orlando, Florida, was established. This network
enabled 100 additional engineers to have a live view of engine operation
without the need for on-site presence and contributed to both testing
operations as well as engine safety.
Cold commissioning of the gas turbine was successfully completed in
December 2007. The four-phase structured testing operation was
commenced with the successful first fire, on 20 December 2007.
First test phase. The first test phase was mainly driven by auxiliary and
start-up commissioning steps, with optimisation of start-up and protection
settings. Mandatory full speed no load (FSNL) tests such as speed sweeps
for validation of compressor and turbine blade eigenfrequencies and
generator protection trials were also conducted. Test phase 1 ended with
first grid synchronisation, on 7 March 2008.
Second test phase. Test phase 2 included the first loading to full speed full
load (FSFL) and all related tests for optimising the loading schedule for the
CC COMMISSIONING
COMM. OPERATION
Hydraulic Clearance Optimisation (HCO) system test, 25/7/08.
The HCO adds 5 MW for the same fuel consumption
Installation of
test sensors on
rotor in Berlin
BEFORE
4 |
60
600
500
50
Speed
40
400
30
300
200
100
Power
20
Speed [1/s]
Thermal paint test,
30/1/09, before and
after. The engine
was operated for an
hour, ramping up to
full power, run at
full power for ten
minutes and then
ramped down
(as in diagram)
Power [MW]
AFTER
10
0
0
14:40 15:00 15:20 15:40 16:00 16:20 16:40 17:00 17:20
Time [hh:mm]
© Siemens Energy, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved.
GAS TURBINE
TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
GAS
Start-up diagrams: top, standard loading, 15 MW/min;
bottom, fast loading, 35 MW/min
375 MW in 25 min.
Relative values 1/%
100
80
IGV / VGV’s
60
40
20
0
rel. Speed
rel. Exhaust temperature
rel. Exhaust massflow
rel. Power
Ignition
6 min. to acelerate
0
200
400
600
The “second-build outage” was completed on schedule, providing in the
field verification of the “roll-in/roll-out” concept for the turbine vane carrier
1000
1200
Duration 1/s
1400
1600
1800
2000
375 MW in 11 min.
100
Relative values 1/%
Fast loading and deloading, 15/4/2009 (power (blue line) and other parameters)
800
80
60
IGV / VGV’s
40
20
rel. Speed
rel. Exhaust temperature
rel. Exhaust massflow
rel. Power
Ignition
6 min. to acelerate
0
0
200
400
600
Duration 1/s
800
1000
1200
five fuel gas stages of the combustion system as well as the four stages of
months of testing, frequent inspections were conducted and valuable service
variable guide vanes. Test phase 2 culminated in achieving baseload (full
and outage experience was also gained. For example, the overall effort
power) for the first time, on 24 April 2008.
involved in the thermal paint test described above is comparable to the effort
Third test phase. The primary focus of test phase 3 was mapping of
required for an extended hot gas path inspection.
aerodynamic and thermodynamic performance at part load and baseload as
well as final combustion tuning to meet emissions requirements. Test phase
3 also included tests with preheated fuel at various loading rates and also
load rejection tests. Pyrometers were utilised to gain a more comprehensive
picture of surface temperatures of the rotating turbine parts. Flow probes
were installed in the diffuser and in the turbine flow path to determine the
flow fields.
The third test phase also included a comprehensive thermal paint test,
which uses temperature-indicating paints to give a permanent visual record
of the temperature variations over the surface of components. Thermal paints
do not modify the thermal behaviour of a component during testing and can
be applied to surfaces with small-diameter cooling holes without affecting
the cooling effectiveness. But thermal paint tests entail a significant
The H in single shaft combined
investment in terms of testing time and financial expenditure.
cycle configuration (SCC5-8000H 1S) - as
For the Irsching 4 paint test, two extensive outages were required. During
now under construction at Irsching (unit 4)
the first 8-week outage, several components coated with the thermal paint
were installed in the combustion and turbine
sections.
On 30 January 2009, the engine was restarted
and loaded directly to baseload for 10 minutes of
operation. Precise timing of the operating
sequence was essential to produce representative
results. Overall, the test run itself only took one
hour. Subsequently, the unit was shut down to
remove the painted parts during the second outage,
which lasted another six weeks.
In the subsequent months, the thermal paint
colour changes were evaluated and very valuable
temperature profiles over the entire surface of the
hot gas path parts determined.
At the end of test phase 3, in April 2009, the
engine had accumulated 300 operating hours. The
mortality rate of the prototype sensors was
comparatively low and thus terabytes of very
valuable data were recorded and will be used for
further evaluations in the future. Having
Water/steam cycle of SCC5-8000H,
completed test phases 1-3, all specific operational
providing 60% net efficiency
Feedwater
tests were successfully concluded. During these 15
© Siemens Energy, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved.
| 5
GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
GAS
TECHNOLOGY
The experience with outages also provided
in-field validation of the roll-in/roll-out
concept for the turbine vane carrier, which
enables exchange of stationary turbine
hardware without rotor lift during hot gas
path inspections. Use of hydraulically
tensioned bolts at joints further contributes
to reduced outage times.
Fourth test phase. This is the so-called
“endurance test”, with the following main
goals:
• amassing of further operating experience,
including starts and operating hours under
semi-commercial conditions;
• confirmation of “readiness for commercial
service”, based on the load regime
required by grid operators (grid code
High temperature HRSG (designed and
compliance, primary frequency response
supplied by Siemens) to be employed in
operation, grid sustaining mode (BLOC),
Irsching 4
fast start-up mode);
• operation by staff without special
qualification (other than standard gas turbine O&M experience); and
• continued recording of data from the test sensor (although the prime focus is no longer on testing).
The engine was operated for extended continuous periods as well as on a daily start-and-stop
basis in line with load dispatch requirements.
When this test phase was completed in the summer of 2009, the engine had logged operating
experience equivalent to 200 starts and 3000 operating hours. This clearly completes a success
story for gas turbine validation.
SGT5-8000H - the main design features summarised
The fully-air-cooled Siemens H class gas turbine is the first new frame developed since the
merger of Siemens and Westinghouse, aiming to take the best features of the two companies’
established product lines (broadly speaking, the Siemens rotor and Westinghouse can annular
burner and compressor) and combine them with advanced but proven technologies. “Design
for Six Sigma” tools were applied rigorously.
Primary targets of the 8000H programme, driven by liberalisation of energy markets and the
need to accommodate an increasing proportion of renewables on the grid, were:
• increased combined-cycle net efficiency to over 60%;
• reduced emissions per kWh produced;
• achievement of high efficiency and low
High cycling capability due to
emissions at part-load;
advanced blade cooling system
• fast start-up capability and operational
flexibility;
Advanced Ultra Low NOx
combustion system
• reduced investment costs per kW; and
• high reliability and availability.
The ultimate end result: minimum life cycle
Evolutionary 3D
compressor blading
costs.
Air cooling, without any steam cooled parts,
was selected as the basic concept because of
the high degree of operational flexibility it
offers – an essential prerequisite in the
deregulated power generation market
environment.
The key design features of the SGT5-8000H
machine can be summarised as follows:
• single tie-bolt rotor comprising individual
compressor and turbine disks with Hirth
facial serrations;
• hydraulic clearance optimisation (HCO);
• axial 13 stage compressor with high mass
flow, high component efficiency, controlled
diffusion airfoils (CDA) in the front stages
and high performance airfoils (HPA) in the
rear stages, variable guide vanes and
cantilevered vanes;
• high-temperature, air-cooled, can annular
combustion system;
• four-stage turbine section, completely aircooled; and
• advanced, on-board variable dilution air
system, with no external cooling system.
Proven rotor design,
A 60 Hz version of the gas turbine (12 burners
Hirth serration and
central tie rod
instead of 16) is now being elaborated using
a direct aerodynamic scaling approach,
thereby minimising operational risks.
6 |
Table of main data for the
Siemens H class gas turbine
SGT5-8000H (50Hz gas turbine)
Gross power output
375 MW
Pressure ratio
19.2
approximately 1500°C
class engine
Turbine inlet temp
625°C
Exhaust temp
Exhaust mass flow
820 kg/s
Turn down
50%
NOx emissions
25 ppm
CO emissions
10 ppm
Weight
440 t
Length
13.2 m
Height
5m
Width
5m
SCC5-8000H 1S (50Hz single
shaft combined cycle plant)
Net power output
570 MW
Net efficiency
60%
Net heat rate
6000 kJ/kWh
HRSG
three-pressure, reheat
HP steam conditions
170 bar/600°C
IP steam conditions
35 bar/600°C
LP steam conditions
5 bar/300°C
Additional features
daily start/shut-down
capability, high baseload
and part-load efficiency,
Benson HRSG, speed
controlled boiler feed pump
Four stage turbine with
advanced materials and
thermal barrier coating
≥ 60% combined
cycle efficiency
Integrated combined cycle
process for economy and
low emissions
© Siemens Energy, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved.
GASTURBINE
TURBINETECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
GAS
Steam turbine to be used at Irsching 4: combined HP/IP casing, 600°C / 170
bar, 16 m2 double flow LP, 56in LSB (shown right)
Conversion to combined cycle
After completion of test phase 4, during which the gas turbine was in simplecycle operation, the Irsching 4 plant is now being converted into a singleshaft combined cycle power plant. To make full use of the high mass flow
and exhaust temperature of the new H class gas turbine the combined cycle
will employ an advanced, high efficiency, high pressure and high
temperature process.
This will include a Benson HRSG to be designed and supplied by Siemens,
which in 2007 acquired the heat recovery steam generator business of
Balcke-Duerr. Features of the HRSG will include: classical 3pressure/reheat configuration; horizontal exhaust gas flow; cold casing;
Benson HP, drum type IP/LP; HP + HP RH water injection; and special
alloys in HP SH and RH to cater for advanced CCGT steam conditions.
The temporary exhaust stack plus test facilities will be removed and the
following components installed: SST5-3000 steam turbine and condenser;
Excavation for the HRSG foundations gets underway (August 2009)
water/steam pipework and associated systems; HRSG; cooling system; and
electrical and I&C systems for the combined cycle plant, including control
room (with tie-in to the control room being installed for Irsching 5).
The steam turbine will use a combined HP/IP casing, 600°C / 170 bar HP
steam, 2 x 16 m2 double flow LP with 56 in titanium last stage blade, and
lateral condenser arrangement.
Takeover by E.ON Kraftwerke and subsequent commercial operation of
MPS
the new combined cycle plant are scheduled for 2011.
Previous articles in Modern Power Systems:
Building the world’s largest gas turbine, Germany Supplement, October
2006
SGT5-8000H - on its way to breaking the 60% barrier, September 2007
Siemens H achieves full power, May 2008
Fuel nozzles, valves, regulators and pumps
Bleed air and thrust balance control valves
Lube oil pump and hydraulic controllers
VSV and IGV actuators
Starter motors and staging valves
Gas Turbine overhaul, repair and test
(Rolls-Royce Avon*, RB211* & Olympus*)
© Siemens Energy, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved.
| 7
This article appeared in:
Modern Power Systems
September 2009, Page 13‒17
Copyright © 2009 by Modern Power Systems
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