Scada package looks after jet-age power generation

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jan 5, 2005

UK company TC Power is using CitectScada as a major element in its global business of providing megawatt levels of power generation from aero derivative gas turbine engines.

UK company TC Power is using CitectScada as a major element in its global business of providing megawatt levels of power generation from aero derivative gas turbine engines.

The Citect package is providing control and HMI monitoring facilities on all engine-operating parameters, the reliability benefits of dual redundancy, and the ability to solve problems on engine installations anywhere in the world using the worldwide web.

TC Power, based in Hull, was one of the first UK companies in the business of providing non OEM services to power generation operators.

Today, the company is truly international, supplying support to power generation packages in countries as far-flung as Brazil, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway and the USA.

The attraction of these packages is the extremely high efficiency and power to weight ratio of jet engines when compared with other forms of generation.

For example, a 1.5t jet engine can produce 12MW of power.

A diesel generator to provide the same output would weigh 30-40t.

In addition, jet engines offer higher overall efficiency with their ability to be used in combined heat and power and combined-cycle applications.

"The high efficiency and small number of moving parts make the jet engine or gas turbine the ideal resource to power modern industry", says TC Power Managing Director, Stuart Elliott.

"The smallest package we've supplied is 1MW and the largest to date is 33MW.

However, we do have the capacity to supply gas turbines that provide up to 300MW".

"We operate internationally and therefore use an internationally recognised, Windows-based Scada system from Citect as the major control and monitoring tool to oversee all engine parameters on our systems".

"The Citect package impressed us with its power, flexibility, ease of use - and the fact that it offers DCS style dual redundancy as standard".

"This means that in critical applications our control and monitoring system is able to tolerate hardware failure anywhere in a system, with no loss of functionality, performance, communication or system reliability".

"The Citect system is also infinitely scaleable up to 450,000I/O plus, so it 's easy and cost effective for us to use one modular package across all our power generation systems".

The normal setup of our systems includes a local HMI, which enables operators to monitor and optimise engine parameters in real time, and also to start and stop the generation process using touchscreen control".

"This operation is safeguarded by very detailed plant alarm and diagnostics embedded in the CitectScada package".

"These enable even an inexperienced operator to quickly pinpoint any system malfunction or fault condition".

"Of course, we have systems all over the world, and in the event that a problem cannot be solved locally, we can just dial-up the respective system over the worldwide web, using the Netop package which sits on top of CitectScada".

"This facility saves us the cost of sending one of our engineers to the problem location.

It allows us to interrogate event logs; to look at alarms, trips and events, to start and stop engines and, most important of all, to fix problems remotely".

"The embedded facilities in CitectScada also mean that our customers can create real time reports regarding the operating efficiency and reliability of their installations, and also undertake trending operations to determine efficiency and reliability over time".

"The reports - event files - are generated daily using industry standard Crystal Reports; they are generally logged on the system for 30 days, after which they are either deleted altogether or saved to CD".