The Boyce Consultancy Group, LLC is a diversified engineering consulting group dedicating itself to technical excellence in the field of TurboMachinery and Power Plant Operation. Its professionals are involved with the design, troubleshooting, and maintenance for manufacturers and users of TurboMachinery. Specialized courses in various areas of design; operation and maintenance are offered to meet the specific needs of the pipeline, offshore, chemical, and refinery operators and maintenance personnel. Boyce Consultancy brings their substantial background in advanced gas turbine engine technology, design, operation and maintenance, plus performance evaluation, and field trouble shooting into the classroom, thus offering a unique blend of practical and theory in the courses. The second half of the course is devoted to the performance and augmentation of a combined cycle power plant and the characteristics of the plant, which includes the operation of the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and the high Pressure and Temperature Steam Turbine.

Over 4500 students representing over 400 corporations from all over the world have attended these courses, including operators, design and maintenance engineers. These are the only fully integrated TurboMachinery Courses available through an unbiased independent company dealing with design, operation, maintenance and optimization of combined cycle power plants. The courses have been well attended, in the past, by engineers from various manufacturers of the plant.

This course deals with design and general operation and maintenance characteristics of centrifugal compressors driven by advanced gas turbines. The course will be taught in its entity by Professor Meherwan P. Boyce Ph.D., P.E., CEng., using his textbooks:

The Handbook for Cogeneration and Combined Cycle Power Plants

by Dr. Meherwan P. Boyce, P.E. published by ASME Press, Second Edition March 2010

The Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition

by Dr. Meherwan P. Boyce, P.E. published by Elsevier Press October 2011

A copy of the ASME Steam Tables

Special Notes presented by Dr. Boyce

will be provided, on the latest technology

$2,600.00 per student, includes text books and notes written by Prof. Boyce. The fees include lunch, tea and coffee breaks.

Tuition paid 30 days in advance is reduced to $2,300.00 per student. Tuition must be paid in full by the deadline to take advantage of discounted pricing.

Two plus persons from one company receive an additional 10% discount. For registration and further information please visit our web site www.boyceconsultancy.com

Due to limited space, limited registration is available and it is suggested you register early to ensure participation. An attendee will not be considered as registered unless his tuition is paid in full. A refund, less 20% administration charge, will be made if cancellation is received in writing 30 business days before the start of the course. Substitutions may be made at any time.

All attendees are required to register at the Registration Desk between 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. on the first day of the course.

An investigation of the Advanced Gas Turbine Technology covers the effect of the Pressure Ratio and Turbine Firing Temperature. The enhancement of Gas Turbine Compressors and turbines for the very high pressure and the firing temperatures close to 3000ºF.

Analysis of various types of cycles including intercooled, reheat and regeneration cycles, combined cycles, cogeneration cycles and optimization of the cycle based on the performance of the various components will be discussed.

Various types and sizes of combined cycle power plants used in the power and petrochemical industry are discussed. Operation characteristics of the plants to operate at part load while maximizing efficiency is emphasized both for combined cycle applications and petrochemical compressor drives.

Methods of increasing cycle efficiency and the output power are studied, such as inlet evaporative and refrigeration cooling, interstage cooling, water and steam injection. State of the art developments in gas turbine technology are reviewed, especially the characteristics of operating gas turbines over a large operating range while maximizing the performance of the entire system.

Maintaining high efficiency at part load operations is a challenge and thus this will include the examination of techniques which will allow the gas turbines at off design loads to operate at its maximum, within the entire plant system ensuring high operating efficiency of all components.

This day is devoted to the examination of design changes in Advanced Gas Turbines, from changes in cycle characteristics, to changes in design characteristics of compressor and turbine blading, high inlet temperatures, increased pressure ratios, new DLN combustors for low NOx characteristics

Key aero-thermodynamic considerations of axial and centrifugal compressors are covered including the effect of surge on gas turbine operation. This section also covers mechanical, performance and aerodynamic aspects of gas turbines, including new cooling schemes for gas turbines to operate at turbine inlet temperatures of 1350ºC -1450ºC.

A description of combustor types, chamber design, fuel atomization, ignition and combustor arrangements are presented. Dry low NOx combustors and their problems with “Flash Back” will be discussed. Fuel treatment of natural gas and other fuels before using them in the gas turbine will be studied, to ensure that the turbine combustion will meet specifications covering emissions and ensuring maximum combustion liner life.

This covers the material aspects of gas turbine blading, turbine wheel alloys, and future materials are discussed. Common failure modes and cases are presented. Coatings as applied to both the Hot Section Components and the compressor will also be discussed under this section.

The design of the steam turbines will be undertaken in this section. The design of the high pressure turbine, which is usually an impulse turbine, will be discussed and the IP and LP turbines, which are usually reaction turbines, will also be studied separately

The study of the HRSG will be undertaken in conjunction with the feed water heaters, dearators, and economizers, plus the preheaters, evaporators, and superheaters of each stage. A study of the temperature distribution as a function of the heat input is also studied with various optimization techniques to assure maximum effectiveness of the HRSG.

A study of the condensers and the computation of the degree of fouling will be examined. The effect of the fouling on the condenser pressure and the effect of that pressure on the entire power output of the plant. Most of the feedwater pumps have centrifugal impellers and so a study of the flow in these impellers will be conducted and the performance characteristics of these pumps will be studied.

An overview of techniques and instrumentation used for monitoring and diagnostics of gas turbines is presented. Techniques covering diagnostics based on performance and mechanical characteristics will be discussed. Systems for gas turbines will be analyzed.

Performance computations will be as per various ASME PTC Codes. Techniques for computing performance of the advanced gas turbines in design and off design operation and in combined cycle modes will be studied. Most new advanced gas turbines operate at very high turbine firing temperatures.

Thus variation in this firing temperature significantly affects the performance and life of the components in the hot section of the turbine. The compressor pressure ratio is high which leads to a very narrow operation margin, thus making the turbine very susceptible to compressor fouling. The turbine is also very sensitive to backpressure exerted on it by the heat recovery steam generator. The pressure drop through the air filter and dirty compressors also results in major deterioration of the performance of the turbine, thus emphasis will be placed on this computation.

Steam Turbine computations will also be carried out in detail. Workings of the Mollier Charts and the Steam Tables will be used to compute performance of the Steam Tables. Correction factors of the steam turbine will also be discussed.

The ASME and API standards applicable to the various pieces of Machinery will be discussed

Various plant maintenance techniques are studied, especially for the major equipment. Case histories of various types of gas and steam turbine failures in combined cycle power plants, and failures in the HRSG system of these types of plants are discussed. Over thirty failures are given in the book and the major failures of interest to the class will be discussed.

Students are invited to bring failures they have encountered in their own plants for discussion.