Mitsubishi F Series Gas Turbine Combined Cycle Operating Experience

M.I shikawa, S.Uchida, K.Okada

Mitsubishi Heavy I ndustries, Ltd. Power Systems Headquarters
K.Hiramoto, Xu XiuFu,
Mitsubishi Heavy I ndustries, Ltd. Takasago Machinery Works

Abstract
The construction of power plants with high thermal efficiency has recently become more
important than before in countries throughout the world from the view point of energy
resource saving and global environmental conservation. Especially, advanced combined
cycle power plants are attracting attention due to their higher thermal efficiency.
Mitsubishi Heavy I ndustries, Ltd. has installed large capacity and high efficiency
combined cycle plants since the unit No.3 in the Higashi Niigata Thermal Power Station
started commercial operation in 1985 with the D series engine which had a firing
temperature of 1150 degree C. More than 50 units have been constructed as shown in
Figure 1.
The F series engine which has a firing temperature of 1350-1400 degree C, is now
predominant in the current market with the remarkable improvements in the gas
turbine technology. Through the operating experiences of F series engine for more than
10 years, MHI has performed the improvement of higher reliability and availability,
higher plant performance, and operation flexibility utilizing latest technology for GT,
HRSG, ST, and control system. As a result, 40 units have been constructed, and more
than 1,200,000 hours operation for the F series gas turbines and the combined cycle
efficiency of 55-57%(LHV) have been achieved.
I n this paper, the design features and optimization of combined cycle plants with F
series engines and their operating experiences are presented.

Figure 1 Mitsubishi Combined Cycle Plants in the World
Table 1 Specifications of Mitsubishi Combined Cycle Plants
Using F Series Gas Turbine

No. PLANT NAME OUTPUT
(MW)
Commercial
Operation
FUEL PLANT
TYPE
1 Florida Power & Light Lauderdale (USA) 914 1992 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M501F 2on1 x 2
2 Kyushu Electric Shin-Ohita #2-1/2 (Japan) 870 1994/1995 Vaporized LNG M501F 1on1 x 4
3 Kansai Electric Himeji #5 (Japan) 670 1995 Vaporized LNG M501F 3on1 x 1
4 Chubu Electric Chita #1/2 Repowering (Japan) 529 x2 1995/1996 Vaporized LNG Repowering
5 Chubu Electric Kawagoe #4 (Japan) 1650 1997 Vaporized LNG M501F 1on1 x 7
6 EGAT Wang Noi Phase I (Thailand) 1305.8 1997 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 2on1 x2
7 Tokyo Electric Chiba #1 (Japan) 1440 1998 Vaporized LNG M701F 1on1 x 4
8 EGAT Wang Noi Phase II (Thailand) 122.75 1998 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 2on1
9 Empresa Electrica San Isidro (Chile) 370 1998 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 1on1 x 1
10 TEAS Bursa (Turkish) 1400 1999 Natural Gas M701F 2on1 x 2
11 Central Costanera S.A. Costanera (Argentina) 830 1999 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 2on1 x 1
12 Entergy Saltend (UK) 1200 2000 Natural Gas M701F 1on1 x 3
13 CFE Chihuahua (Mexico) 450 2001 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M501F 2on1 x 2
14 EVN/Phu My 1(Vietnam) 1,090 2001 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 3on 1 x 1
15 Entergy Damhead Creek(England) 800 2001 Natural Gas M701F 2on 1 x 1
16 AES Parana (Argentina) 740 2001 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 2on 1 x 1
17 PPN(India) 360 2001 Natural gas/Naphtha M701F 1on 1 x1
18 Tuas Power PTE Ltd(Singapore) 736 2001 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F1on 1 x 2
19 FET TUXPAN (Mexico) 495 2001 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M501F 2on1 x 1
20 EDF ALTAMILA(Mexico) 503 2002 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M501F 2on1 x 1
21 TPC NAN-Pu(Taiwan) 248 2002 Natural Gas M501F 1on1 x 1
22 Azer Energy SEVERNAYA(Azerbaijan) 395.2 2002 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 1on1 x 1
23 Trans Alta CHAMPECHE(Mexico) 260 2003 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M501F 1on1 x 1
24 NPR.Negishi (Japan) 431 2003 Synthetic Gas / Kerosene M701F 1on1 x 1
25 Union Fenosa TUXPAN(Mexico) 498.4x2 2003 Natural Gas M501F 2on1 x 2 x 2
26 Undisclosed (Spain) 390x3 2003 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 1on1 3
27 Undisclosed (USA) 793.4 2003 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M501F 3on1 x 2
28 Port Dickson (Malaysia) 730 2004 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 2on1 x 1
29 Lamma No.9 (Hong Kong) 376 2004 Natural Gas/Distillate Oil M701F 1on1 x 1


I ntroduction
Several heat recovery type combined cycle systems have been installed using the F
series gas turbines since 1992, all over the world. As shown in Table 1, 40 plants are in
operation, and 8 plants are currently under test operation. I n addition, 7 plants are
being under manufacturing and/or construction.
Mitsubishi combined cycle plants have good reputations from all customers with its
high efficiency, high reliability, high availability and flexible operation incorporating the
customers practices and preferences.


Main features of the plant
The overall configuration of one unit is shown on Figure 2

1) I n order to increase the total thermal efficiency, a heat recovery cycle using a gas
turbine with a high efficiency is selected.
2) AS the gas turbine inlet temperature directly influences its thermal efficiency, firing
temperature of 1350 deg C (I t was uprated to 1400 deg C.) was adopted with
advanced cooling of rotating blades and stationary vanes etc. Thus, the metal
temperature could be maintained as the same level of D series of gas turbine.
3) According to the increase of the GT inlet temperature, a premixed combustor system
was further developed to obtain low NOx without injecting water and steam to
satisfy the environmental requirements, and the advanced cooling technology
enabled the combustor wall metal temperature to be lowered.
4) The gas turbines are capable of both single fuel firing(fuel gas) and duel fuel
firing( fuel gas and fuel oil).
5) I n order to recover the gas turbine exhaust heat with small heat loss, the heat
recovery steam generators are of triple pressure type generating high, medium and
low pressure steam with natural circulation.
6) The steam turbine is also triple pressure type with high thermal efficiency and low
heat loss adapting the I SB (I ntegral Shroud Blade) to the LP last blades. Partial
load efficiency is further improved by variable pressure operation over a wide load
range.
7) An integrated digital computer control system which has the distributed
hierarchical function is installed to control the plant as a whole, to meet the
requirements of flexible and optimum operation for combined operation of GT, ST
and HRSG.
8) A combined cycle plant is composed of two or more generators. Selection of main
circuit system for generator is an important factor in plant reliability, equipment
layout and economy. The plant employs a low-voltage synchronous closing system
with GMCB in the generator main circuit instead of a high-voltage synchronous
system for the purpose of the deletion of starting transformer and the reduction of
number of switchyard bays.
9) The design and construction of the facility shall be suitable for continuous base load
operation and for intermittent or partial load operation at a constant or fluctuating
level, and DSS (Daily Start & Stop) operation.
49
MHI BUSI NESS
CONFI DENTIAL
Steam Cycle for F Series GT (Reheat)
LP
Condenser
Steam Turbine
Generator
Gas Turbine
Combustor
Fuel Gas
HRSG
HP
LP
HP
RH
IP
IP
HP Steam
LP Steam
Turbine
Turbine C om p.
RH Steam
Figure 2 Overall configuration of F series Combined Cycle Plant

Optimization of combined cycle plant design

The combined cycle plant system will be so designed and optimized considering a lot of
factors such as the site condition, performance, operability, controllability, space
availability, maintenance, and economical cost.

1) The optimum bottoming cycle will be selected to attain the maximum thermal
efficiency by recovering the heat effectively from the exhaust gas of F series gas
turbine. Optimization of the plant cycle resulted in the selection of a
superheat/reheat and low pressure cycle (Triple pressure system), and the steam
pressure and temperature are determined considering the limitation of steam
pressure requirement for natural circulation of HRSG, and the erosion on ST LP
last blades (the wetness fraction of steam shall be less than 12 %.)
2) Depending on the combination of turbines and generators, system can be classified
into two. i.e. single shaft type in which a gas turbine is directly coupled to a steam
turbine with a single common generator, and multiple shaft type in which a gas
turbine and steam turbine are coupled to its own generator respectively.
Considering base load operation of the plant, the multiple shaft type is a little bit
more efficient than a single shaft type. The single shaft heat recovery combined
cycle type was selected, because it is suitable for daily start and stop (DSS)
operation. The single shaft configuration with flexible coupling and/or SSS clutch
can also be applied. The comparison table between two kinds of shaft configuration
is shown on Figure 3
3) Depending on volume flow of steam turbine and achievable condenser vacuum, the
steam turbine is selected from double cylinder type and single cylinder type with the
corresponding last blades. (Refer to Figure 4.)
An axial flow and down flow type steam turbine can be selected according to the
requirements of total plant arrangement and economical reasons.
4) Depending on the starting capacity of GT and availability of auxiliary steam, the
starting method is selected from the following three items.
- Starting Motor
- Steam Turbine
- Static Frequency Converter (SFC)
5) HRSG pinch point can be optimized by evaluating the total equipment cost and
running cost (fuel cost) for the variation of the pinch point. Small pinch point
requires large heating surface and result in higher C/C efficiency. Pinch point
optimization is the trade-off between construction cost and operating cost. (Refer to
Figure 5)
6) The Vertical and horizontal gas flow type HRSG can be selected according to the site
occupied area and economical cost.
7) The following four types of condenser cooling system is adopted according to a site
condition such as the availability of a large amount of cooling water and
environmental requirement at site.
- Once through cooling
- Wet Cooling Tower
- Dry Cooling Tower
- Air Cooled Condenser
8) I n order to prevent HRSG economizer tubes from corrosion, feed water temperature
should be raised above water dew point (around 60 deg. C) and sulfuric acid dew
point. (around 100 deg. C) I f the plant is designed for duel fuel, we have to be careful
for the need of installing deaerator for preventing sulfuric acid corrosion while
distillated oil is fueled, as well as the need for preheater recirculation system for
preventing carbonic acid corrosion while natural gas is fueled.


SINGLE SHAFT (1GT - 1HRSG - 1ST) x 2 MULTIPLE SHAFTS (2GT - 2HRSG - 1ST)









Suitable for DSS (Daily Start & Stop) &
BASE load application
Shorter start-up time
Suitable for BASE load pplication
Higher thermal efficiency at base load
Auxiliary steam (approx. 30 t/h) for ST
cooling is required during start-up.
Less Auxiliary Steam Consumption during
Start-up (approx. 3 t/h)
Simple Operability GT Simple cycle operation is available with
bypass stack
Much Coordination in GT&ST Design
Work
ST design work can be separated from GT

Figure 3 Comparison between Single Shaft and Multiple Shaft
GT
HRSG
GT
ST
GT
HRSG
ST


Figure 4 Mitsubishi C/C Reheat Steam Turbine Line-up



Figure 5 Optimization of HRSG
P.P. vs. Heating Surface / C C HR
0
0.5
1
1.5
0 8 16 24
Pinch Point
H
e
a
t
i
n
g

S
u
r
f
a
c
e
0.998
1
1.002
1.004
Heating Surface
C C
Efficien
C
C

E
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
O ptim ization

Plant performance and equipment specifications
The power output of a gas turbine varies substantially with the ambient temperature. I t
is therefore necessary to select the plant output so that it will be adequate under all
normal operating conditions.

The performance of each of M501/701F gas turbine and its C/C plant is shown in Table
2.

Table 2 Performance Data of M501F/M701F gas turbine and its C/C plant

Model of GT M501F M701F
Rated speed 3600rpm 3000rpm
Rated Output 185MW 270MW
Efficiency 37.0 % 38.2 %
Kind of fuel Natural gas Natural gas
1) Turbine
Type Axial Flow Type Axial Flow Type
No. of stages 4 4
Turbine I nlet Temperature 1400 deg. C 1400 deg. C
2) Compressor
Type Axial Flow Type Axial Flow Type
No. of stages 16 17
No. of Bleed 3 3
Air Flow 453 kg/sec 651 kg/sec
3) Combustor
Type Multi-can-annular type Multi-can-annular type
No. of combustor 16 20
C/C Plant (1 on 1)
Rated Output 280 MW 398 MW
Efficiency 56.7 % 57.0 %
C/C Plant (2 on 1)
Rated Output 564 MW 800 MW
Efficiency 57.0 % 57.3 %


Optimum Layout of System
The plant arrangement should be examined so that the land and facilities will be so
optimizedly arranged.
The generation plant arrangement is designed based on the following design concepts.
1) The optimum arrangement of equipment will be determined by considering
functional requirement, economy of piping and electrical cable, economy of
equipment supports, installation and maintenance access requirements, ventilation
requirements and equipment generated noise and vibration.
2) The overall arrangement will provide adequate space for operation, maintenance
and construction.
3) Maintenance space has been provided so that disassembly, inspection, and
maintenance can be carried out on a unit even while an adjacent unit is operating
4) The plant arrangement will be mainly influenced by the following factors, which
shall be definitely fixed at the beginning of the design stage.
- Shaft configuration of power train
(Single shaft or Multi shaft, and 1 on 1 or 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 )
- Outdoor or indoor installation
- Type of steam turbine
(Single or double cylinder and axial flow or down flow)
- Type of condenser cooling system
(Location of circulating water intake/outfall and location of cooling tower)
- Electrical interface of transmission lines
(Location of switchyard)
5) The common equipment related to GT simple cycle operation shall be so designed to
locate as near as possible to GT and its auxiliaries so that they are constructed and
commissioned at the same time in case of GT simple cycle operation.
6) Enough space for routing major steam piping and cable shall be considered around
GT area so that they may not interfere with the inlet duct of GT inlet air filter in
case that the single shaft configuration should be adopted.
7) The attached Figure 6 and 7 show birds eye view and general arrangement of the
typical power block. All of the gas turbines and steam turbines are installed in the
main turbine building with enough open space for disassembly during overhaul
inspections.
The gas turbines are parallel to one another in the turbine building, and HRSGs are
located outdoors in series with the gas turbines.
















Figure 6 General Arrangement of Multiple Shaft C/C Plant
Figure 7 General Arrangement of Multiple Shaft C/C Plant

Operation and Plant Control System

1) Major features of combined cycle control system
I n combined cycle plants which consist of several numbers of major equipment such as
GT, ST, HRSG and Generator, it is necessary to control total plant equipment
synthetically, coordinating the different characteristics between the major equipment.
The major features of combined cycle control system are as shown below.
(1) Coordinated control between major equipment
(2) CRT based operation and monitoring for plant total supervision
Process systems and equipment will be adequately monitored to provide
operators with all information required for safe and easy operation of the plant.
(3) Flexible automatic control system considering various operation patterns
Automatic operation is to be performed by distributed control system under
normal operation and plant start up/shut down operation.
Start/stop operation for plant auxiliaries can also be possible by using CRT
operator station. however manual controls will also be provided to allow manual
operation or manual intervention of the automatic process.
(4) Optimized control system achieving highly efficient operation
I n a combined cycle power plant which employs several gas turbines, it is
possible to assure the high plant thermal efficiency by changing the number of
operating gas turbines according to the power demand
(5) Plant load control following load demand signals from remotely and locally
(6) Distributed independent control system for each major equipment for the
purpose of risk dispersion
(7) Redundant control system with high reliability
As a general principle, the failure of no single item of plant, shall result in the
complete loss of station electrical output. Plant failures may result at most in a
reduction of electrical output.
(8) I ndependent plant interlock system in case of emergency
All plant equipment and systems control shall be achieved by Distributed Control
System (DCS), local control systems which interface with DCS, stand alone control
systems and hard-wired circuits.
The majority of plant equipment control and information functions will be implemented
in DCI S. The DCI S also provides control, status and alarm interfacing with non-DCI S
controlled system.
The control system shall allow the plant to be controlled by one control room operator,
one shift supervisor and a roving plant operator although more people will be required
at busy times.

2) Operation Flexibility
The control system shall be designed to enable the power station to safely respond to
partial and full load and continue generation on house load in the case of station load
rejection.
I n addition, the facility can be so designed to enable the following operations when
requested by the customer.
(1) GT simple cycle operation with bypass stack
(2) Black out start up with black start facility
(3) Duct burner system with supplemental firing system to obtain larger electrical
output
(4) I nlet air cooling system with evaporative cooler or fog system to obtain larger
electrical output in case of higher ambient temperature
(5) Change-over operation from fuel gas firing to fuel oil firing in case of low fuel gas
pressure.
(6) Two shift operation such as DSS (Daily start &stop) operation
The typical operating record of DSS operation is shown in Figure 8.

GT Exhaust Temp ()
C/C Load (MW)
28Hr
Figure 8 Sample Operation Record F Series Single Shaft C/C Plant

Project Operation Availability

Table 3 & 4 show operating experiences of 501F & 701F gas turbines, which can enable
us to recognize how Mitsubishi gas turbines are so reliable.
Fleet reliability of F series gas turbine as of J uly, 2002 is 99.6% for M501F 24units for
930,369 operating hours cumulative and 99.6% for M701F 32 units for 578,793
operating hours cumulative as shown below.
Reliability is defined as the balance of possibility of forced outage.
I n addition, Mitsubishis recent operating experience in Chihuahua M501F combined
cycle plant with 2 on 1 multi shaft configuration in Mexico(Figure 9). I ts electrical
output is 445MW(GT:144 MW x 2, ST: 160MW) and entered into commercial operation in
2001.
This plant is being so reliable that the customer of CFE (Comision Federal de
Electricidad) gave a reward as the high reliability power plant, and Best Power Plant
prize was awarded from the journal of Diesel & Gas turbine.












Figure 9 Chihuahua Power Station
R Ru un nn ni in ng g : : 3 32 2 U Un ni it ts s
B Bo oo ok ke ed d O Or rd de er r : : 1 14 4 u un ni it ts s
R Ru un nn ni in ng g : : 2 24 4 U Un ni it ts s
B Bo oo ok ke ed d O Or rd de er r : : 4 43 3 U Un ni it ts s
Table 3. Operating Experience of M501F Gas Turbine
Table 4. Operating Experience of M701F Gas Turbine

Project schedule

The figure 10 shows the typical project schedule for the large combined power plant.
I t will take approximately 28 months from the commencement of design work to the
commercial operation,


















Remote monitoring and maintenance supporting system

MHI can serve the operation and maintenance services after commercial operation. Remote
monitoring and maintenance supporting system is one of MHI s maintenance services
programs.
MHI has plant monitoring team in Takasago machinery Works that monitors the plants
being contracted for 24 hours monitoring and advisory service in order to insure high
availability and reliability operation as shown in Figure 11.
Since the real time operation index data are logged in Remote monitoring data base in
Takasago through communication line or internet, Monitoring staff call the plant
operator at jobsite about the incident detection, and quick advices after investigation by
professional experts of MI TSUBI SHI are also available even in case of emergency
Basic Design Detailed Design
Manufacturing & Procurement
Civil Work
Erection Work for Mechanical/Electrical
Commissioning
GT Spin GT/ST on Base
HRSG Erection
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Figure 10 Typical Project Schedule for C/C Plant
Commercial Operation
Of course, plant operator may consult with monitoring staff for operational
recommendation and preventive maintenance planning during their duty.
Remote monitoring and maintenance supporting system have already been introduced
to 15 units (8 plants), while in addition 12 units (4 plants) will come up soon in order to
increase plant availability and reliability.



Figure 11 Remote Monitoring System

Conclusion
The Mitsubishi combined-cycle experience using F series gas turbine is extensive and
worldwide, including 37,000MW of installed capacity with more than 1,200,000hours of
gas turbine operation. The availability of total F series gas turbines has also achieved
more than 98%. The Mitsubishi will continue to provide advanced combined-cycle plants
worldwide especially in China with attractive economics, reliability, and operating
flexibility incorporating customers needs and requirements.