“Invensys delivered a significant amount of flexibility and capabilities to the system design.”

Derren Wicks Lead Maintenance Engineer

Invensys Foxboro DCS System Key Power Station Upgrade

Goals•GDFSuezinitiatedaplantosplitcontrolofa14.7-kilometergaspipelinerunningbetweenitsTeessidePowerStationandagasreceptionfacilityandagasprocessingplantwhichprovidesdualnaturalgasfuelsuppliesfortheplant

•Arobustsolutionwasneededtoreplacesignalsoriginallycollectedbykilo-streamtelemetryandthentransmittedviaanalogtelephonelinesthroughagatewaytothedistributedcontrolsystematthegasprocessingplant.

•RelocatethecontrolfacilitiesandassociateddatatothecontrolroomattheTPS

Challenge•Thecompanymandatedthatthepowerstationcontrolsystemupdateoccurlive,becauseshuttingdownthenaturalgassupplypipelinewouldincursignificantfinanciallosses

Invensys Operations Management Solutions: •Foxboro®I/ASeries®DistributedControlSystem•FoxboroAIM*Historian•Wonderware®InTouch®HMI•Eurotherm®single-loopcontrollers

Results•TheInvensys®solutiondeliveredgreatersystemefficienciesasobsoleteequipmentwasupgradedtocurrentpowerfacilitycontroltechnology

•GDFSuezbenefitedfromimprovedengineeringknow-howthatenablesplantmanagerstobetteranalyzepossibleproblemsandenhanceandmodifythecontrolsystemasrequired

•Thepowerstationnowhasimprovedoverallsafetysincesignalcollectionatmuchhigherfrequenciesprovidesreal-timedatatomoreimmediatelyidentifyandaddresspotentialissues

INDUSTRY:POWER

GDF Suezwww.gdfsuez.com

Redcar & Cleveland, United Kingdom–Basicphysicspointsoutthatyoucan’tmakemoreenergythanyouconsume.Butyoucanstillleveragetheelectricitygenerationprocess,squeezingeveryextrakilowattoutofthesystem.Combinedcyclegasturbinesdojustthat,divertingwasteheatproducedbyanaturalgas-fueledturbineintoasteamturbine.Thistypeofelectricitygenerationconfigurationachieveshighlevelsofefficiencysinceheatexhaust−thatwouldotherwisebereleasedintotheair−isre-usedinthecombinedpowergenerationprocess.

TheTeessidePowerStationinEnglandisthelargestcombinedcyclegasturbinefacilityinWesternEurope.Thesinglestationcanmeetnearly3percentoftheelectricitydemandforEngland,WalesandScotlandviaitseightnaturalgas-firedturbineswithatotalcapacityof1,875megawatts.In2008,GDFSuez,aFrenchmultinationalenergycompany,acquiredtheTeessidePowerStation,andembarkedonaplantmodificationprojectandupdateofthecontroltechnologyinfrastructurewithsolutionsfromInvensysOperationsManagement.

GDFSuez,formedbythemergerofGazdeFranceandSuezin2008,isoneoftheleadingenergyprovidersintheworld,globallyemploying200,000people.GDFSuezoperatesintheareasofelectricitygenerationanddistribution,naturalgasandrenewableenergy.Italsobecametheworld’slargestutilityaftertakingcontrolofBritain’sInternationalPower.ThecompanyhasbeenactiveintheUKsince1997,extendingitsbusinessthroughouttheentireenergyvaluechain,fromexplorationandproductionintheNorthSeatoenergysupplyandtechnicalservicestobusinesses.

A Handoff in Pipeline Control

Locatedona23-acresiteintheWiltonchemicalcomplexnearMiddlesbroughinthenortheastofEngland,theTeessidePowerStationalsoworksasacogenerationplant,providingsteamfortheWiltoncomplex.UntilitsacquisitionbyGDFSuez,theTeessidepowerplantwasoperated,maintainedandmanagedbyPXLtd.PXstilloperates,maintainsandmanagestheTeessidegas

processingplant(TGPP),whichdeliversprocessednaturalgasfueltoitsformerpowerplant.

ThescopeoftheupgradeprojectwastosecureandsplitthecontrolofthenaturalgaspipelinerunningundertheRiverTeesbetweenthepowerplantandthegasprocessingplant.ThisinvolvedreplacingboththeexistingFoxboroDistributedControlSystem(DCS)andMicoSolRemoteTerminalUnits(RTUs)–bothcontrolledbyTGPP–andbringingtheRTUsignalsintotheDCSlocatedattheTeessidepowerplant.Ineffect,thecontrolofthegaspipelinewouldbetransferredtotheTeessidePowerStation.

TheprincipletechnicalchallengewasthattheexistingsignalsfromtheRTUswerecollectedbytelemetryandtransmittedviaanalogtelephonelinesthroughagatewaytotheDCSatTGPP.Conversiontoarobust,highintegritysolutionwasneededtocollectthedatafromtheRTUs.Atthesametime,theexistingFoxboroandMicroSolsystemsweretobeupgradedtocurrentFoxborotechnology.

Thekeyrequirementfortheprojectwasthattheupgradetothenewcontrolsystembecompletedsafelyandeffectivelyconsequentlyitwasvitalthatthenewsolutiondemonstraterobustnessandreliability.Thecontrolsystemmodificationsalsohadtobecompletedinrealtime,withoutshuttingdownthegaspipelineandthusavoidingtheincursionofsignificantfinanciallosses.

Invensys Solution Relied onDiverse Capabilitie

TheTeessideprojectsignificantlyleveragedthediversecapabilitiesofferedbytheInvensyssolutionsportfolio.TheprojectwasbasedonaFoxboroI/ASeriesDCS.ItincludedFoxboroRTUsandtheMeshControlNetworkaswellasWonderwareInTouchhuman-machineinterface(HMI)softwareandsinglelooptemperatureandprocesscontrollersfromEurotherm.TheInvensysteamconsistedoffourpermanentmembers,andsomeoftheinitialengineeringworkwasperformedbyaleadengineerandapplicationengineersattheInvensysEngineeringExcellencecentreinBratislava,Slovakia.

TheFoxboroI/ASeriesisdesignedtoimproveTeesside’splant-wideoperations,performanceandassetutilization.TheFoxboroI/ASeriesfeaturesasignificantbreadthofcapabilitiesforprovidingoptimalperformancetooperators,engineersandmaintenancepersonnel.Notonlywillitmaximizepowerplantperformance,itenhancesbusinessoperationsinrealtime,allowingoperatorstofocusonmanagingprofitcontrol.Inaddition,theFoxboroI/ASeriesincorporatestheInvensys“continuouslycurrent”philosophywhichensuresthatthesystemisconstantlyinfusedwiththelatesttechnologieswhilemaintaininginteroperabilitywithearliergenerations.Thisassureseasyupgradesandsignificantlyreducestotalcostofownershipforthepowerplantoperators.

WonderwareInTouchprovidesadvancedgraphicvisualizationandisdesignedtomaximizeproductivity,optimizeusereffectiveness,increasequalityandlowerdevelopment,maintenanceandoperationalcostsbyfeaturingcustomgraphicalviewsofreal-timepowergenerationprocesses.

“Invensysdeliveredasignificantamountofflexibilityandcapabilitiestothesystemdesign,”saidDerrenWicks,LeadMaintenanceEngineer.“FoxboroI/AandWonderwareInTouchenabledourTeessidedevelopmentteamtoincorporateahugevolumeofsysteminformation.Theresultwaswewereabletofocusonreal-timecontrolactivitiesatthepowerplanttoensureallgenerationsystemswerecloselymonitoredandanyissuescouldbeeasilyandquicklyresolved.”

Inaddition,bothplantsrequirednewMeshControlNetworksegmentsaddingtotheircurrentlegacyFoxboroNodebussystemstohostthenewcontrolprocessors,andinturncontrolthenewFieldDeviceSystemInterfaces(FDSI)whicharethenconnectedtotheRTUnetworkinaredundantconfiguration.

TheTeessidePowerStationalsogainedanenterprise-widecapabilityforthecollection,storageandretrievalofhistoricaldatawiththeFoxboroAIM*Historian,whileanetworkarchitecturesolutionwasdevelopedwithassistancefromthird-partycommunicationstechnologyproviderBlackBoxNetworkSolutions.AIM*Historianprovidesenterprise-widecapabilityforthecollection,storageandretrievalofhistoricalprocessinformation.AIM*HistoriancanrunonbothI/ASeriessystemsandnetworkplatforms,andcancollectinformationfromawidevarietyofprocesscontrolenvironmentsincludingmostdistributedprocesscontrolsystemssuchastheI/ASeries.AIM*HistorianrepositoriesalsoareeasilyintegratedwithMicrosoftpersonalproductivityapplicationsandrelationaldatabases.

“Highlyefficientpower-generatingstationsliketheTeessideplantgenerateandconsumeincreasingandvariedamountsofhistoricaldata,”saidDerrenWicks.“Forsystemdevelopment,planningandplanningpurposes,weneedtostorethisinformationindefinitely,whilemakingthedatabothaccessibleandeasytoannotate.”

Invensysalsoprovidedanengineertoperformhazardandoperability(HAZOP)studiesandaSafetyIntegrityLevel(SIL)assessmentofthesystem.Thisresultedinarecommendationtoacquireanon-sitesafetysystemtomeetcurrentsafetyregulations.GDFSuezselectedaHIMatrixsafetysystemfromHimaSellaasequipmentfromthismanufacturerwasalreadyinuseattheTeessidePowerStationsite.TheInvensysteamdesignedasolutiontoconnecttheHIMatrixsafetysystemtotheFoxboroI/ASeriessystemtoensurethatallrelevantdataandalarmsweredisplayedonthe23operatorconsolesinthecentralcontrolroomatthepowerstation.

Fromthepositionofsafetyandhighintegrity,theHAZOPstudydeterminedthat,abackupsecondarysystemwasnecessary.Asaresult,theteamaddedaWonderwareinterfaceinthreeassociatedAboveGroundInstallations(AGI).Allplantcontrolinformationcanthenbemonitoredfromthislocationduringatelephonecommunicationsfailure.Inaddition,WonderwareInTouchsoftwarewasusedtocreatetherequiredinterfacetotheRTUs.

Uninterrupted Implementation Keeps Power Flowing

Theprojectwassuccessfullyexecutedintheallottedtimeframespecifiedandwithoutincurringashutdown.ExcellentcollaborationbetweentheGDFSuezandtheInvensysteamswerekeytoimplementingtheonlinetransferofthepowerfacilitycontrolsystemsfromoneplanttoanotherandalsoenabledtheTeessidePowerStationmanagerstocontinueproductionoperationsthroughouttheprojectupgrade.

Withthenewcontrolsysteminplace,theTeessidefacilityisoperatingwithamorerobusttechnologysolutionthatprovidessignificantlyhigherdegreesofvisibilityintoday-to-dayfacilityoperations.Asaresult,thecompanyisbetterabletocontroltheprocessandrespondfastertoanypotentialissuesthatmayimpactsafetyorproductivity.Andwhilethepowerfacilitycan’tescapethelawsofphysics,Invensyssolutionsareplayingamajorroleinhelpingplantmanagersgenerateelectricityatlowercostsandatthehighestlevelspossiblewithacombinedpowergenerationoperation.

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