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Your outcomes—delivered
These days, we're all trying to do more with less, but GE Vernova can help. Our upgrades and modernizations can help you get more from your existing assets. Discover the possibilities with our interactive upgrades selector.
Controls
Control Lifecare Services
Whether you need 24/7 technical support, live remote diagnostics, onsite field engineering, or parts management, we have you covered with GE Vernova's Controls Lifecare Services (CLS).
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Cutting Carbon - Season 9
Join Dr. Jeff Goldmeer, Brian Gutknecht, and special guests for the final season of our 3-part series as they discuss the roles digital and electrification will play in the energy transition.
Decarbonization in action
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See how GE Vernova's Gas Power business is helping to build a world that works.
25+
installations since 2008
50 Hz and 60 Hz
1x1, 2x1, 3x1, OEM power plants
4.7K+
combined cycle start-up hours saved
$15M+
customer fuel saved
Our upgrade solutions
OpFlex* Steam Turbine AGILITY
Opflex* Steam Turbine AGILITY is a streamlined system solution that improves startup efficiency in combined cycle power plants through collaboration with plant operators. It utilizes innovative control modules and modern steam turbine control features to address real-world challenges, transforming generic operational logic into tailored strategies for managing startup life consumption, lowering startup costs, and reducing transient emissions. AGILITY increases automation, standardizes startup processes thereby reducing manual variability, and aims to lower transient CO and NOx emissions while reducing startup costs and managing life consumption.
Key features**
- Tuned auto start schedules
- Customized rotor stress targets
- Improved steam turbine roll permissives
- Use of interstage attemperators during daily starts
- “Flex hot start”
Benefits
Increased HP/IP efficiencies
Steam path warming
GE Vernova has developed a robust system to allow customers the flexibility during start-up by ensuring temperature uniformity across shells.
Shell warming
This upgrade is intended for the HP/IP shell (single-shell configuration), and is designed to enable the unit to maintain a set temperature for the turbine shell, and to reduce transient shell deflections, also targeting reduced seal wear corresponding to longer sustained HP/IP section efficiencies.
When combined with GE Vernova AGILITY™ offering, there will be added benefit in reduction of start times (cold, warm, and hot). The offering consists of a heating blanket system, junction boxes, cabling, thermocouples, and a stand-alone control system.
Benefits:
- Faster start up times (e.g. 0.5 – 1 hour reduction)
- Works with OpFlex*
- Longer sustained HP/IP section efficiencies
- Reduces likelihood of rub induced vibration events
Steam turbine heat conservation system (STHCS)
The STHCS uses heated air to keep the high-temperature rotors warm during periods of standstill and prior to re-start. This solution reduces start-up times by eliminating cold start conditions as well as providing preservation of the steam turbine and condenser by maintaining humidity control when the unit is in stand-still mode.
Implementing the ST heat conservation system will prevent the steam turbine from entering a cold condition after the shutdown. The warm-keeping of the ST leads to the following benefits:
- Improved availability through reduced start up times
- Improved start-up efficiency
- Enhanced flexibility by shorter response time upon demands from grid
- Avoidance of penalties for late delivery to the grid
- Steam turbine lifetime improvement
Solutions
Turbomax 7+ Stress Controller
The power generation industry is rapidly changing, and turbines originally manufactured for base-load operation are now required to respond quickly to grid demands. The modern requirements for steam turbine power plants (including combined-cycle installations) are faster and more frequent start-ups, combined with longer phases of low load operation (LLO).
Our solution for a new energy environment
GE Vernova has developed a modern rotor stress controller called Turbomax* 7+—available for units running older versions of Turbomax*—that is built around the following modules:
- Steam Turbine Rotor Stress Calculation Model
- Lifetime Usage Indicator
- Steam Turbine Limiter and Control Functions
Calculates the thermal stresses for the steam turbine rotors based upon existing measurements typically available in the turbine supervisory instrumentation suite.
Accumulates lifetime consumption during operation caused by thermal low-cycle fatigue and creep. This indicator adapts to the changing use of the asset over time.
Keeps the operation of the steam turbine within the permissible limits for protection of the asset.
Benefits
Turbomax* offers several benefits for operating and maintaining the steam turbine:
- Improved availability and reliability
- Improved flexibility
- Cost savings during start-up and load ramps
- Visibility of lifetime consumption
- Improved maintenance planning
- Enhanced optimization with digital add-ons
Related upgrades and services
Contact us
Want to learn more about steam turbine flexibility upgrades?
*Trademark of General Electric Company
**Control system limitations may apply
