Condenser operation with isolated on-line test loop
First Claim
1. A condenser system, comprising:
- at least one bundle of tubes;
an inlet water box, connected to a first source of cooling water, and connected to the interiors of plural ones of said tubes;
an outlet water box, connected to the interiors of plural ones of said tubes;
a drain, connected to drain water from said outlet water box;
a steam manifold, connected to pass depleted steam over the exterior of said tubes in said bundle of tubes, whereby said steam is cooled and condensed by contact with said bundle of tubes;
a condensate removal path, connected to drain condensed steam from the exterior of said bundle of tubes;
wherein said bundle of tubes includes at least one monitoring tube, and said monitoring tubehas an interior which is isolated from the water flow in both of said water boxes and which can be viewed through an endoscopic probe without shutting down said first source of cooling water,has a first end connected to a second source of cooling water, andhas a second end connected to a water drain;
whereby scale deposition on the interior of tubes ins aid tube bundle can be assessed by monitoring scale deposition on the interior of said monitoring tube.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A condenser structure wherein both ends of at least one tube, which is physically located among the other (numerous) tubes of the condenser'"'"'s tube bundles, is not connected to the inlet water box nor to the outlet water box; instead, this tube is provided with separate inlet and outlet connections. The separate inlet connection is preferably provided with a separately-controlled admixture of water treatment chemicals. Also disclosed is an innovative method of operating a steam condenser. One or more tubes, which are physically located among the other (numerous) tubes of the condenser, are isolated to provide a real-time test loop. The tube thus isolated is chosen to be among the tubes with the highest heat load, so that this tube provides a worst-case proxy for scaling in the other condenser tubes. The isolated tube is frequently inspected for scaling (e.g. at intervals of a week or so), and addition of anti-scaling chemicals to the cooling water is controlled with reference to the scaling (or lack thereof) seen in the isolated tube. Preferably the level of treatment chemicals is held at a lower level in the isolated test loop than in the primary cooling water supply.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A condenser system, comprising:
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at least one bundle of tubes; an inlet water box, connected to a first source of cooling water, and connected to the interiors of plural ones of said tubes; an outlet water box, connected to the interiors of plural ones of said tubes; a drain, connected to drain water from said outlet water box; a steam manifold, connected to pass depleted steam over the exterior of said tubes in said bundle of tubes, whereby said steam is cooled and condensed by contact with said bundle of tubes; a condensate removal path, connected to drain condensed steam from the exterior of said bundle of tubes; wherein said bundle of tubes includes at least one monitoring tube, and said monitoring tube has an interior which is isolated from the water flow in both of said water boxes and which can be viewed through an endoscopic probe without shutting down said first source of cooling water, has a first end connected to a second source of cooling water, and has a second end connected to a water drain; whereby scale deposition on the interior of tubes ins aid tube bundle can be assessed by monitoring scale deposition on the interior of said monitoring tube. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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2. A steam-powered electrical generating plant, comprising:
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a heat source; a feedwater source; a boiler, connected to receive feedwater from said feedwater source and to thermally couple said feedwater to a heat source so that said feedwater is at least partially converted into live steam; at least one steam-powered motor, connected to receive steam from boiler and to partially convert the energy of said steam into mechanical motion; at least one generator, connected to be powered by the mechanical motion of said motor, and to partially convert the energy of said mechanical motion into electricity; a condenser, comprising; at least one bundle of tubes; an inlet water box, connected to a first source of cooling water, and connected to the interiors of plural ones of said tubes; an outlet water box, connected to the interior of plural ones of said tubes; a drain, connected to drain water from said outlet water box; a steam manifold, connected to receive depleted steam from said motor, and to pass said depleted steam over the exterior of said tubes in said bundle of tubes, whereby said depleted steam is cooled and condensed by contact with said bundle of tubes; a condensate removal path, connected to drain condensed steam from the exterior of said bundle of tubes; wherein said bundle of tubes includes at least one monitoring tube, and said monitoring tube has an interior which is isolated from both of said water boxes and which can be viewed through an endoscopic probe without shutting downsaid first source of cooling water, has a first end connected to a second source of cooling water, and has a second end connected to a water drain; whereby scale deposition on the interior of tubes in said tube bundles can be assessed by monitoring scale depostion on the interior of said monitoring tube. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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3. A method for operating a steam condenser, comprising the steps of:
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providing a condenser including at least one bundle of at least 1000 condenser tubes, wherein said bundle of tubes includes at least one monitoring tube, and said monitoring tube has an interior which is isolated from both of said water boxes and which can be viewed through an endoscopic probe without shutting down said first source of cooling water, has a first end connected to a second source of cooling water, and has a second end connected to a water drain; continually flowing cooling water, through the interior of said condenser tubes, from an inlet water box to an outlet water box; continually flowing depleted steam across the exterior of said condenser tubes; repeatedly, from time to time, monitoring said monitoring tube for degradation; and admixing water treatment chemicals into said cooling water substantially continually, but only to the extent to which said step of monitoring said monitoring tube for degradation indicates that treatment is necessary to avoid degradation of said tubes of said bundle.
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Specification