I'm saying with conviction and from
experience that the multiple failures of the Kapar Power Plant Phase 3
sootblowers was the root cause of some of the major boiler troubles in
Phase 3. A couple of major incidents involving the Phase 3 boilers
during my tenure as the Plant Engineer there that could be attributed to
the sootblower failures are laid out below.
The
worst case was when numerous platen superheater tubes were found bent
out of shape during an inspection by an inspector from DOSH for boiler
certificate of fitness renewal. To make matters worse, the DOSH
inspector had to walk up ten floors of the boiler house with me in tow
due to a sudden breakdown of the boiler elevator although it had been
serviced not long before the day of inspection. Subsequently, DOSH
instructed the plant to replace the distorted superheater tubes before
the boiler certificate could be renewed. As a result, the unit's
downtime (for overhaul) had to be extended and the plant incurred
several million RM of losses from additional repair costs and loss of
generation. It was too bad I wasn't a golfer like my colleague from
Phase 2 who occasionally teed off with DOSH inspectors. Perhaps the
losses could have been curtailed had I been a golfer and rubbed elbows
with DOSH officials!
Following
a "nasty" letter, which the Station Manager asked me to draft, faxed to
the boiler manufacturer, the manufacturer sent its engineers to inspect
the damages. It was determined that the root cause of the problem was
none other than the many broken-down sootblowers in the platen
superheater region.
Another
major incident was the puncturing of reheater tubes by sootblowing
steam attributed to a non-rotating sootblower lance tube. This
occurrence caused a forced shutdown of a generating unit and led to more
financial losses for the power plant.
The
sootblowers themselves suffered countless defects and breakdowns right
from the beginning. There were several cases of lance tube getting stuck
in a boiler and breaking apart due to the intense heat inside the
boiler. That kind of occurrence was unheard of in Phases 1 and 2 during
my years in Kapar. Imagine the effect (on metal temperatures) of
operating the boilers for prolonged periods with nearly half of the
sootblowers down. The root cause of most sootblower breakdowns could be
pinpointed to the drive mechanism of the sootblowers.
A very good example of reliable sootblowers was already in plain sight next door in Kapar Phase 2 but why the TNB Generation Project Division chose to specify an unbelievably less reliable drive mechanism for the Phase 3 sootblowers was anybody's guess. The Phase 3 sootblowers were fitted with a plain old chain drive in comparison with Phase 2 sootblowers which used the highly reliable rack and pinion drive. I read the contract document which specified chain drive for the Phase 3 sootblowers.
A very good example of reliable sootblowers was already in plain sight next door in Kapar Phase 2 but why the TNB Generation Project Division chose to specify an unbelievably less reliable drive mechanism for the Phase 3 sootblowers was anybody's guess. The Phase 3 sootblowers were fitted with a plain old chain drive in comparison with Phase 2 sootblowers which used the highly reliable rack and pinion drive. I read the contract document which specified chain drive for the Phase 3 sootblowers.
Now
I dare say with conviction that the root cause of the Kapar Phase 3
project debacle was mismanagement on the part of both TNB Generation
Project Division and the project consultant; not unlike the root cause
of the country's financial troubles which is the economic mismanagement
by the BN government!
 |
| A sootblower lance tube disengaged from its drive mechanism and stuck inside a boiler. |
 |
| The "plain Jane" chain used to drive the Phase 3 sootblowers. |
Originally commented on 26 January 2014:
ReplyDeleteI suffered the boiler troubles alone and I felt like I was made a scapegoat for the Phase 3 boiler fiasco. When the plant was slapped with a suspension by DOSH for the platen superheater tubes incident, I submitted several options on how to deal with the matter to the Station Manager but the SM just kept mum about it. I had to make the decision alone to replace the distorted tubes despite the high costs involved. When there was an organizational restructuring of the plant later, I was passed over for the post of head of the mechanical maintenance section even though I had worked at the plant for 18 years then. I was without a post for a while and was asked to be the caretaker head of another section before being dumped back into shift work despite the fact that I had done shift work for seven years before being assigned to Phase 3 as a plant engineer. Despite a prolonged delay of the Phase 3 project completion due to countless technical problems incurred during commissioning, the TNB Generation Project team that managed the Phase 3 project got off scot-free while I suffered in silence! It was too much and I had to get out of the plant...and TNB!