Customer Support>Recent Releases>TFLOW 12 update letter

August 15^th, 2003

Dear Customer,

The enclosed CD will install by default in a TFLOW12 directory. 

The main advances in TFLOW12 are the completion of the PEACE functionality in STEAM MASTER and the development of a steam turbine assembly in THERMOFLEX.  Additionally, numerous developments have been implemented across our entire software suite, as summarised below.

Features that apply to the Thermoflow Suite as a whole

a)         A method of using ELINK to run models from a flexible GUI (graphical user interface) has been described in the updated E-LINK manual.  This allows you to configure an attractive, user-defined pictorial interface that overlays your Thermoflow models, making them easy to use by staff who are unfamiliar with our suite of software.  If you already have models of your operating power plants in any of our programs, you can now package them for use by plant operators, plant managers, business and financial staff, etc.

b)         New DRS Product:  Our data reconciliation system (DRS), which we have developed and applied to several operating power plants over the years, has now been converted from a custom package which we configure at the source code level, to a user-configurable, general purpose system running as an Excel add-in, just like ELINK.  The DRS allows you to use measured plant data as the direct inputs to an existing model in any of our programs, regardless of whether this data is normally an input to the model or an output from the model.  Furthermore, the data need not be perfectly self consistent with respect to heat and mass balance, since the DRS will reconcile it, creating a “best fit” model.  The user-friendly Excel interface allows you to define weighting factors to reflect the trustworthiness of each measurement, as well as margins for the allowable variance between the expected and measured value for each measurement.  Thus, it also functions as a means of identifying faulty instruments, in addition to reconciling the sound measurements.  The new DRS product should be invaluable in plant performance tests and greatly facilitates the construction of relatively inexpensive on-line monitoring systems.

Gas Turbine Data Base Update

The GT data base used by the various Thermoflow products has been updated, as follows:

GT PRO / GT MASTER

a)      The GT MASTER manual is now on-line, in the form of context sensitive help, like GT PRO.

b)      The option to include SCR in a simple cycle plant, without a HRSG, has been added.  Previously, this was possible but required “tricking” the program by constructing a dummy HRSG.

c)       An option for a single-stage steam turbine has been added.  This is mostly applicable to cogeneration systems with smaller or back-pressure units, and results in lower efficiency as well as lower cost than a multi-stage unit.

d)      When designing a cooling tower in GT PRO, a new option lets you specify the L/G ratio (water to air mass flow ratio) instead of the air wet-bulb temperature rise.  L/G is commonly used by cooling tower manufacturers, but has the drawback that its appropriate value is a function of ambient conditions and warm water temperature.  The program will check your input and override it if it is unachievable.

e)      The electric chiller has an additional option to let you specify the kW/ton in lieu of the COP.  This facilitates entering data from some vendors.

f)        In reheat cycles, the hot reheat stop valve pressure drop can now be treated separately from the pipe, just as the main HPT stop valve.

g)       A stream table has been added to the “Tables” portion of the text output.  This contains the mass flow rates and thermodynamic states of all program streams in fixed format, and can be exported to Excel as a CSV file.

h)      Cycles with a deaerating condenser will now allow a single condensate/LP pump, whereas in the past the two pumps were treated as separate pumps in series.

i)         The estimated prices of all gas turbines have been revised.

STEAM PRO / STEAM MASTER

a)      Integration of PEACE into STEAM MASTER completed, similar to its integration with GT MASTER.

b)      A new option has been added for using a package boiler, rather than a field-erected boiler, for smaller, non-reheat plants burning oil or natural gas.  These boilers are much less expensive.

c)       A new option in STEAM PRO and STEAM MASTER allows multiple identical units (up to four) in a power plant.

d)      Price estimates have been revised for ST units larger than 500 MW.  Units in the 1000 MW class are now in the range of 55 $/kW to 70$/kW depending on the specific configuration.

THERMOFLEX

a)      A system for defining a steam turbine assembly has been developed, bringing to THERMOFLEX many details and user-friendly automatic procedures that were previously available in STEAM PRO and GT PRO.  These include procedures to automatically estimate the efficiencies of the various steam turbine groups, automatically estimate leakage flow rates from valve stem packings and shaft labyrinth seals, automatically direct these leakage flows to appropriate locations as a function of turbine casing configuration, and automatically size the exhaust end(s) and estimate their exhaust loss curves.  Full flexibility is retained to allow the experienced user to override any automatic procedure and enter specific data instead.  The new steam turbine assembly provides a solid platform for the PEACE estimate of the dimensions and costs of the steam turbine.

b)      When THERMOFLEX imports a GT PRO file, the steam turbine structure in GT PRO automatically initialises the new steam turbine assembly inputs in THERMOFLEX, saving the user’s time.

c)       The cost estimates of the “GT PRO Gas Turbine” component icon, the “Fuel Compressor” component icon, the “Deaerator” component icon and the “Flash Tank” component icon now appear in the THERMOFLEX/PEACE outputs.

d)      The input interface for the “Steam Turbine” component icon, the “Fuel Compressor” component icon, the “Flash Tank” component icon and the “Deaerator” component icon have all been upgraded from the old tabular list system to the newer, pictorial system.

e)      A new THERMOFLEX/PEACE “Shell-Tube Water Heater” component has been added.  This is based largely on the feedwater heater component, except that it provides greater flexibility in that the heating fluid may be of any phase at both the inlet and outlet.  Thus, the heating fluid may be hot water, or may be steam at both inlet and outlet, etc.  Additionally, the heated fluid may be either water or brine, to facilitate modelling desalination systems.

f)        The THERMOFLEX/PEACE engineered components for the water-cooled condenser and for the feedwater heater can now handle brine, not just pure water.  This facilitates modelling desalination systems.

g)       The THERMOFLEX/PEACE engineered “Coil” component now has an additional option for plate-fins.

h)      The THERMOFLEX/PEACE engineered “Pump” component now has an additional option to let the pump determine the downstream pressure at off-design.

i)         The THERMOFLEX/PEACE engineered chiller components, both Electric and Absorption, now have additional options to define their capacity and cooling water flow rate at the design point.  This facilitates setting up models where several chillers are configured in series on the chilled water side and/or on their cooling water side.

j)         The THERMOFLEX/PEACE engineered chiller components, both Electric and Absorption, now have an additional option to let the chiller dictate the chilled water flow rate corresponding to its capacity and set-point exit temperature at off-design.  This facilitates modelling applications where a variable speed chilled water pump is controlled by the chilled water set point temperature.

k)      The “Moisture Separator” component icon now has an input for moisture separation efficiency, with an option to automatically estimate it based on typical procedures for estimating the internal moisture separation efficiency within steam turbine blading.  Thus, the automatic estimate should only be used if this icon is inserted between steam turbine groups.