CUSTOMER: American Electric Power UK
PROBLEM: The American Electric Power (AEP) owned station, located in Lancashire, it is one of the largest power stations in the north of England and a major source of electricity for the National Grid, so any work that could be done outside the limited shutdown was a preferred option.
SOLUTION: Burning 16,000 tonnes of coal a day and using 195 million litres of water for the cooling process, feed systems are a piece of critical plant in the day to day running of the power station, thus, so are the associated valves. Trevitest provides a way of validating these systems’ valves online and more accurately than traditional methods through the use of computer read outs.
The Trevitest process tests relief valves without the requirement to remove the valve from the plant. The principle is to apply a force to the valve spindle to overcome the spring tension of the valve, through the use of a specially designed power pack mounted on the valve. An electronic force transducer, linked to a portable computer, then traces the forces applied.Furmanite, applied its newly developed addition to the Trevitest technology to achieve time and resources and therefore, significant cost savings. Using the patented Trevitest system with a specially designed added acoustic attachment Furmanite technicians were able to test and certify as many as 34 feed system valves in just three days, whilst the power station remained online and in full operation. To do this the traditional way, through removal of valves and workshop bench testing, would have taken almost a week during the planned shutdown. This application is in addition to the 19 boiler steam valves that have been routinely tested by Furmanite Trevitest standard equipment for many years now.
Furthermore, the valves that underwent Trevitest valve maintenance are guaranteed for 12 months thereafter, which insurance companies class as re-certification.
OUTCOME: Fiddlers Ferry Power Station has been saved valuable time, resources and money by removing work from the planned shutdown to pre outage time through the innovative use of on-line testing and insurance certification of feed system valves.