Bypass Systems

Designed to Improve
Efficiency and
Flexibility of Thermal
Power Plants
...................................................
By Ulrich Kägi

22591 Avenida Empresa

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
949.858.1877 ! Fax 949.858.1878 ! ccivalve.com
390 | 06/00 ! ©2000 CCI ! DRAG is a registered trademark of CCI.
 In the early 1930’s new boiler types, e.g., the Sulzer monotube
Bypass Systems Designed steam generator, were developed. Because this boiler did not have
to Improve Efficiency and a large accumulator in the form of a steam drum anymore, it
Flexibility of Thermal required automatically controlled valves and a fully automatic
control system for stable operation. The boiler was started up
Power Plants with the evaporator and superheater full of water and already
under pressure. It required therefore a bypass valve at the
" By Ulrich Kägi, CCI AG (Switzerland)
Presented at the Future Strategies and Technologies for Development outlet of the boiler to control the boiler pressure immediately
of Thermal Power International Conference, Dec. 14–17, 1999, after light-off, when the water in the boiler expanded and
in New Delhi, India steam production started. A fully hydraulic control system and
hydraulically operated valves were developed in order to operate
Abstract this type of boiler successfully.

With the development of boilers with reheaters, bypass systems

T urbine bypass valves were first used in the early 1930’s with the
newly developed once-through steam generators. Today, bypass
systems are not only essential for the flexible operation of large
as we know them today, with HP- and LP-bypass, were
introduced. Fig.1 shows the water/steam cycle of a single reheat
coal fired power plants, but play an equally important role in power plant with HP- and LP-bypass. In the effort to increase
advanced combined cycle power plants. Bypass systems permit the efficiency and reduce cost per installed megawatt, unit sizes were
boiler and the steam turbine to be separated during startup, shut- increased along with higher temperatures and pressures at the
down and load disturbances. This reduces fuel consumption and superheater and reheater outlet. In the 1960’s the first plants were
enhances operational flexibility during all those transient operating operated in sliding pressure mode.
modes. Startup and reloading times—and therefore fuel costs—are
In continental Europe it became customary to utilize the
reduced. Other advantages are reduced lifetime consumption of
HP-bypass valves as safety valves to protect the superheater
major plant components, and higher overall availability of the
against excessive pressure. The design of the bypass valves had
plant. The latest bypass-valve technology improvements make sure
to follow the trend of ever-increasing steam flow together with
that bypass systems fulfill all the operational requirements of
higher temperature and pressure. In the 1970s, bypass systems
today’s advanced thermal power plants. Longer overhaul cycles and
were applied in increasing numbers also to enhance the flexibility
reduced maintenance are important features in today’s increasingly
of large drum type boiler units. The Indian power industry was at
competitive market. New plants are not the only ones that
the forefront of bypass application in these power plants.
can profit from the advantages of state-of-the-art bypass systems.
Bypass systems can be added to existing plants, and existing bypass 2. Function of Turbine Bypass Systems
valves can be upgraded to the latest technologies. Turbine bypass systems can contribute to flexible plant operation
1. Introduction mainly by supporting:

" Repeatedly attainable fast startups

with the greatest possible regard to the
lifetime of heavy-walled components.

HP IP LP G
" Quickest possible restoration of
PT
power supply to the grid after any disturbance
PT
1 1 HP-Bypass Valve
2 Spraywater Control Valve Therefore, bypass systems contribute to the
3 Spraywater Isolation Valve
3 2 overall target of safe and efficient supply of
77
6 LP-Bypass Control Valve
C 7 Desuperheater electric power at minimum total cost.
8 Spraywater Control Valve
CL
2.1 Plant startup
PT 7
During unit startup, the bypass system
6 essentially allows the separation of boiler and
TT

C 8 turbine operations by diverting all the steam,

which cannot be accepted by the turbine or
other consumers, through the bypass. This
allows the boiler to reach the desired steam
qualities as quickly as possible to start the
Figure 1—Single Reheat Plant with HP- and LP-Bypass
turbine.
2 Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants | 390 ©2000 CCI. All rights reserved.
Without a bypass it is difficult to control two output variables o
C bar

of the boiler (pressure and temperature) with only one input 500 300
4.2
variable, the firing rate. If there is no steam flow through the
400
reheater and almost no steam flow through the superheater, the 4.1

firing rate is limited to very low values. Such low firing rates 300
200
do not allow a quick warm-up of the boiler. Increased slagging
200
and fouling of the boiler can be, besides high fuel consumption, %

the result of slow warm-up. Because of the low boiler load, the 100

attainable superheater outlet temperature is limited. Changes in 0 100 100

the firing rate will always affect pressure and temperature. Fast
pressure transients during startup are not desirable because they
result in temperature transients in heavy-walled parts, such as the 3.2

boiler drum or the startup separator. 

2.1 2.2 2.3

The bypass therefore allows faster boiler warm-up through higher Bypass
1.1
boiler load, reduces thermal transients in the boiler, and by Operation
2.4
attaining good steam-to-metal temperature matching also allows 0
0 50 100 min
shorter turbine startup times with reduced life time consumption. Light up Synchr. Full Load

2.1.1 The HP-Bypass During Hot Start Pulverizers

The hot start characteristics of a coal-fired 500 MW unit (Fig. 1.1 Firing Rate
2) shows how a bypass system can contribute to a quick and 3.1 Superheater Pressure
2.1 Feedwater Flow 3.2 Reheater Pressure
lifetime-saving startup. The boiler is a once-through type with 2.2 Waterwall Flow
2.3 Steam Flow (Superheater) 4.1 Superheater Temperature
nominal superheater outlet conditions at full load of 254 bar 2.4 Steam Flow (Turbine) 4.2 Reheater Temperature
(3683 psig) and 541oC (1000oF). After an overnight shutdown the
unit is restarted at a superheater pressure of approx. 80 bar (1160 Figure 2—Hot start of a coal-fired supercritical 500 MW unit

psig). This is, at the same time, the pressure for turbine start,
so no large pressure transients are to be expected. Immediately
after light-up, the bypass opens and starts to control constant
pressure. The firing rate is quickly increased in order to match
the superheater outlet temperature with the turbine metal
temperature. For this unit, the desired steam temperature after
an overnight shutdown is approximately 450 oC (842 oF). Two
pulverizers are started before the turbine is started. This keeps
temperature transients, invariably associated with the start of the
first pulverizers, away from the heavy wall turbine parts. The
bypass compensates for load swings originating from pulverizer
start. The reheater pressure is quickly increased to approx. 12 bar
(175 psig) which allows auxiliary steam to be supplied from the
reheater.
2.1.3 The LP-Bypass During Startup
The LP-bypass is diverting the hot reheated steam directly to the
condenser. The LP-bypass should have at least a capacity which
is equal to the HP-bypass flow during startup, including the
HP-bypass spraywater flow. The reheater pressure during startup
is determined by various considerations:
In the startup diagram of Fig. 2, the reheat pressure during startup
is kept at 12 bar (175 psig). This keeps the exhaust pressure of the
HP-Turbine low enough to avoid overheating of the last turbine
stages through ventilation losses. The LP-bypass must therefore
be sized for the startup flow at this reduced pressure.
2.2 Load rejection
2.2.1 HP-Bypass
An HP-bypass with capacity of 100% BMCR at rated pressure can,
in case of a load rejection or a turbine trip, immediately take
over all excess steam. This has the following advantages for the
plant operation:
" The boiler can remain in operation and immediate reloading
of the turbine is possible
" No lift of superheater safety valves
" Superheater and reheater are continuously cooled by steam
flow
" Unnecessary pressure and temperature transients are avoided

" Use of reheat steam as auxiliary steam
" Desired reheat pressure for IP/LP turbine warming
" Desired HP-turbine exhaust pressure for startup
" The boiler can run back to a stable minimum load in a
controlled manner
" No immediate pulverizer trips are necessary
" House load operation is possible

©2000 CCI. All rights reserved. 390 | Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants 3
" Reheat steam is available as auxiliary steam 3. Turbine Bypass Systems
in Combined-Cycle Power Plants
" Part load trip in sliding pressure mode without unnecessary
pressure transients Bypass systems are not only essential for flexible operation of
large coal-fired power plants, they are also part of any of today’s
A smaller bypass of 60–70% MCR usually allows the keeping
advanced combined-cycle power plants. Fig. 4 shows the bypass
of the boiler in operation. At high loads the superheater safety
system of an advanced Combined Cycle Power Plants (CCPP)
valves will have to open for a brief period and pressure and
with a three-pressure Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG).
temperature transients are not avoided completely.
The purpose of the bypass system in this type of power plant
2.2.2 bar Pressure
LP-Bypass is in principle the same as in the coal-fired plants. It has to
40
compensate for the differences in the startup sequence between
Due to limited
the steam generator and the steam turbine. The steam production
capacity of the
of the boiler is determined primarily by the gas turbine operation
condenser, the
and therefore the available thermal energy at the outlet of the gas
LP-bypass 20
turbine. By controlling the steam flow of the HRSG, it is possible
usually cannot
to reach the steam conditions desired for a smooth and lifetime-
dump 100% 10 bar
saving start of the steam turbine. Sizing considerations are similar
MCR flow into
Flow to those for a coal-fired power plant. The possible separation of
the condenser.
50 100 % the steam generator and the steam turbine during disturbances
When Bypass Flow 25%
Flow limitation plays an even-more-important role in the CCPP because the
determining the Boiler Flow 35%
maximum  Turbine House Load Flow 10% steam generator operation is directly coupled with the gas
turbine. The separation therefore allows independent operation
allowable Figure 3—LP-Bypass After Load Rejection
of gas and steam turbines.
LP-bypass flow,
the high LP-bypass spraywater flow of approx. 25% of steam flow 4. Design Considerations
has to be taken into account. On the other hand, it is desirable
Bypass systems are installed to enhance the flexibility of power
from a turbine operating point of view, to have for house load
plant operation and to protect and save life-time of critical plant
operation and reloading a HP-Turbine exhaust pressure as low as
components. Bypass systems are themselves subject to frequent
possible, and therefore a large LP-Bypass.
high thermal stress caused by normal startups and shutdowns
The result of the two contradictory requirements is very
often a LP Bypass with a 100% MCR capacity at full
reheat pressure but a flow limitation introduced in the
control system. Fig. 3 illustrates house load operation
with an LP-bypass.

The operating conditions are assumed as follows:

" Minimum stable boiler load approx. 35%

" Required steamflow for house load approx. 10%

" LP-bypass flow (including HP-bypass spraywater)

approx. 25% MCR
1
" Max. reheat pressure of 10 bar (145 psig) at house
load (25% of full load pressure) GT HP IP LP G

As Fig. 5 shows, the resulting size of the LP-bypass

valves is 100% MCR at full reheater pressure.
3
If the maximum allowable flow through the LP-bypass 1 HP-Bypass
is less than 100%, the reheater safety valves will have to 2 IP-Bypass
open in the initial phase of a load rejection from full 3 LP-Bypass
2
load. The reheat safety valves have to dump the excess
steam to atmosphere until the boiler has been run back
Figure 4—Bypass Ssytem in a Combined-Cycle Power Plant
to a load corresponding to the capacity of the LP-bypass.
4 Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants | 390 ©2000 CCI. All rights reserved.
as well as disturbances in the plant operation. Additional stress
is caused by the inherent function of pressure and temperature
reduction. Bypass valves must be designed so that they are not by
themselves a limitation to the operational flexibility of the plant
and never result in additional stress or damage to the plant.
Goals of a good bypass valve design are therefore:
" Tolerance to frequent high thermal stress due to pressure and
temperature transients
" Little regular maintenance required for any mechanical
components
" Easy accessibility to all valve internals for inspection and
maintenance
" Replacement of any parts must be possible without cutting the
valve out of the pipe
In order to achieve the above goals, the following rules should be
applied for the design of bypass valves:
" Thin pressure boundary walls reduce actual thermal stress in
the material due to temperature transients
" Spherical shapes result in the thinnest-possible pressure
boundary walls for given pressure and temperature
" Smooth transitions between different wall thicknesses and no
unnecessary material accumulation
" Pressure boundary walls must be protected from being hit by
spraywater
" Avoid thermal stress due to temperature differences in any
parts which are already subject to high mechanical stress (e.g.,
no spraywater injection through valve stems)
" Efficient cooling of the steam by good mixing and evaporation
of the injected water
" Good atomization of the injected spraywater by high injection
speed or injection into the high steam turbulence zone
" Good mixing of the injected water by high turbulence or deep
penetration of the injected water into the steam jet
" All parts must be accessible and exchangeable from the top
The following examples of an HP- and an LP-bypass valve show
the application of the above listed design rules.
4.1 HP-Bypass Valve
Fig. 5 is a sectional drawing of an HP-bypass valve. Since this
valve is designed to be used also as a combined bypass and safety
valve, the steam flow is in the opening direction of the valve.
Because the high pressure (thick wall) part of the valve consists
essentially only of the inlet nozzle, this design minimizes
stress due to thermal cycling. The valve body has a spherical
shape to minimize the wall thickness. Any unnecessary material
accumulation is avoided. The valve is especially suited as an
HP-bypass for supercritical plants.
©2000 CCI. All rights reserved. 390 | Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants
The wing-type plug used in this
valve has evolved over many years
of experience and is the best-
suited stem shape for this type
of valve. The wings split up
the steam flow into a number
of small jets, which efficiently
reduces noise and vibration inside
the valve.
The valve-in features integrated
spraywater injection. Proper
design of an integrated injection
requires a detailed understanding
of the flow pattern inside the
valve during all load conditions.
Analysis and optimization of
these flow patterns including
Figure 5—HP-Bypass Valve
spraywater atomization and
evaporation is today possible with dynamic numerical
calculation.
The spray water is injected through a high number of small
injection nozzles directly into the zone of highest turbulence of
the steam flow. This ensures excellent atomization of the injected
water, good mixing with the steam, and due to the small droplet
size, very fast evaporation of the injected water. The spraywater
nozzle body which is subject to the differential temperature
between steam and injection water is not under mechanical load.
The cage around the desuperheating area prevents the pressure-
retaining walls from being hit by water droplets, which would
cause high local thermal stress. Hole pattern, shape and material
selection of the cage are the result of long experience with
integrated injections.
Due to the optimal atomization and evaporation of the
spraywater, the water is essentially evaporated at the outlet of
the valve which gives maximum freedom in placing the valve in
the plant.
4. 2 LP-Bypass Valve
In the LP-bypass valve shown in Fig. 6, the steam flows in the
closing direction. This is the normal flow direction for LP-bypass
valves because the LP-bypass usually has a safe closing function
to protect the condenser from too high a thermal load.
The valve has an inlet cage, seat ring and outlet cage, all easily
removable from the top.
The spraywater is injected downstream of the valve through
spring-loaded nozzles. The outlet cage is guiding the steam flow
towards the spray nozzles. The spring-loaded nozzles ensure a
minimum injection pressure for all flow rates, and therefore a
high injection velocity and good atomization. High spraywater
5
 velocity results also in deep
penetration of the injected
water into the steam jet
at the outlet of the valve,
and therefore good mixing
of water and steam. The
defined injection velocity
makes sure that the injected
water is not hitting the
pipe walls downstream of
the injection nozzles. The
nozzles are arranged
around the whole
circumference of the pipe,
and the number of nozzles
is selected so that a large
area of the steam jet exiting
Figure 6—LP-Bypass Valve
the valve is penetrated by
the injection water. All the above design features together result
in a good water/steam mixing and quick evaporation of the
injected spraywater.
4.3 Turbine Bypass Controller
A well-matched bypass controller will contribute a great deal
to the flexible and lifetime-saving operation of the plant. The
bypass is controlling the boiler pressure during the critical period
of the boiler startup when pressure transients can lead to high
unnecessary temperature transients in heavy walled components
of the boiler and the turbine. The key part of the HP-Bypass
pressure controller is the setpoint generator. It has to produce
the correct setpoint for all the different operating modes during
startup, load operation, load rejection and shutdown. Core
of the setpoint generator is a rate limiter, which limits the
gradient of any pressure increase during all operating modes,
thus protecting the heavy-walled parts from pressure/temperature
transients. Operating modes are mainly determined by process
conditions, namely the superheater pressure and the valve
position. The bypass controller is therefore independent and
does not rely on many signals from the boiler or turbine
controller.
The HP-spraywater control, although at first glance a very simple
piece of equipment, has to deal with large variations in process
gain and time delay as well as process disturbances. The use
of an advanced control strategy, i.e., a state controller with
observer (SCO), can considerably improve accurate control under
different operating conditions, and is therefore an important life-
conserving factor for valves and piping.
The LP-bypass pressure controller controls reheat pressure during
startup and load rejections. Similar to the HP-pressure controller,
it has a setpoint generator producing the correct pressure setpoint
6 Bypass Systems Designed to Improve Efficiency and Flexibility of Thermal Power Plants | 390
during all operating modes. In case of power-operated reheater
safety valves with sliding pressure opening mode, it is the
LP-bypass controller which generates the signals to keep the
reheater safety valves open as long as there is too much reheat
steam flow to be dumped only through the LP-bypass.
Because the steam conditions after the LP-bypass desuperheater
are usually at or near saturation conditions, the temperature
after injection cannot be used as a control signal. The necessary
injection water flow and corresponding injection valve position
must be calculated on basis of the steam flow and desired
conditions after desuperheating.
As mentioned above, the actual signal interchange between the
HP-/LP-bypass controller and other control systems is small, and
the required functions for startup and other operating conditions
can be clearly defined. It is therefore advantageous to procure the
bypass system including bypass controller as one package. The
bypass supplier is best suited to implement all required control
functions for a smooth operation of the bypass system. This is
certainly the case if safety functions and coordination with power
operated reheater safety valves are involved.
5. Conclusion
The main reason for installing turbine bypass systems is
improving flexibility in plant operation, especially during startup,
shutdown and disturbed plant operation. Benefits of this
enhanced flexibility are faster startup times, reduced downtime,
and higher availability of the plant, resulting in less fuel costs
and lower overall plant-operating costs. These desired results
are only achievable when all components are designed and
selected to suit the specific needs of a bypass system, and all
components are well-matched. This is achieved when the whole
system—valves, actuators, and controls—are from one supplier
with years of experience in the design and operation of bypass
systems and the ability to integrate all components. A good
technical specification which addresses all the requirements is a
customer’s most effective instrument in receiving a well-designed
and matched bypass system. Some design criteria for reliable
bypass valves are listed above.
6. References
1. Assessment of Fossil Steam Bypass Stations
EPRI CS-3717, Final Report, 1984
2. R. Rohner, Sulzer Bypass-Systems for Fossil Power Stations
I Mech E Power Conference 1988
3. W. Bung and B. Föllmer, Controlled Safety Valves in Power
Plants in Accordance with the German Standards
VGB Kraftwerkstechnik 75 (1995) Number 9
©2000 CCI. All rights reserved.