Service Offerings

HRSGs in cycling service and low-load operation are exposed to a variety of invisible, cumulative and irreversible damage mechanisms that can cause premature pressure-part failures if not identified and eliminated/mitigated. Informed review during the design phase of new units is a cost-effective means of avoiding such problems. Informed review of key design features and historical operating data in existing units can identify damaging thermal transients for which corrective actions can be developed. Many of the HRSGs currently on the drawing board and most of those operating in the fleet today are highly susceptible to these premature failures. Competitive Power Resources has extensive experience identifying the risks and determining how they can best be mitigated.

Specific services we provide to clients include:

Design reviews and development of procurement specifications for new HRSGs. Our design reviews and equipment specs help owners balance initial cost with long-term O&M expenses, ensuring both the durability and the profitability of plants in cycling service.
Risk assessment of existing HRSGs, focused on their vulnerability to premature failure. Our data driven risk assessments identify the HRSG's exposure to the major sources of failure-such as thermal fatigue, flow-accelerated corrosion, corrosion-fatigue, and under-deposit corrosion for which specific corrective actions are suggested.
Audits of plant operating procedures. The procedures at many plants fall short of fully integrating the gas turbine, HRSG, and steam turbine for optimum plant reliability. We help operators modify their procedures and customize them to their unique equipment arrangement to reduce the risk of premature thermal-fatigue failures and often shorten startup duration.
Technical due diligence of plants and equipment. We help project developers considering the purchase of existing HRSGs to fully understand the equipment condition.
Root-cause analysis of plant failures. Too often, combined-cycle/cogen managers repair a failed component with a "replacement in-kind." Our root-cause analysis helps managers understand the underlying failure mechanisms, and take steps to minimize or eliminate the odds of that same failure recurring.