Another busy week this time working with PLC and SCADA code. In this case a PLC management system for a generation fuel farm. here we control from two bulk tanks via a 3 way duty standby pump system to two day tanks. Spil from these is routed back to one of the two bulk tanks. Back in times past we always had panels full of gauges and buttons however today we use "Soft" desks. This example is in Citect 2018.

Paramount to equipment performance, health and longevity is the measurement of machine variables and operating to the correct parameters. Key therefore is the instrumentation on your asset. We remember performing works on our first power assets with Kent Commander class instruments and Bailey computing relays. (That’s bellows and gears or 3 to 15 psi in our old terms.) Today's devices are much smarter, more reliable and require less maintenance.

It is inevitable that components come to an end of life. This week in Gensrv we completed a very critical replacement of some turbine compressor blades. These GT blades are the first set found in the GT compressor and as such are also the largest. The blades are fitted with mid span connections to reduce vibration. Where each blades midspan spur meets there is a ware pad damper. The blades in this machine had lost all material from the ware pads increasing blade flex and vibration. All blades were removed and new balanced items fitted.

A busy week in GenSrv with engineering design and tenders. Today we have been working on Solar Hybrid designs. In this case for an island power supply with 6 hours peek sun and a 25 kW load. Our solution uses SMA PV inverts on a 600 panel field. This output is manged by SMA battery controllers with storage batteries. The controller manages the 3 phase system load and frequency using the output from the PV array to charge the battery's. When not enough solar energy the battery's are utilized. In very bad times a diesel generator can supply the load.

Back in the day before we had microcomputers, PLC's and DCS controlling our generators we had other systems. Initially these were mechanical and hydraulic based later moving to transistor equipment. Here we have a picture of such an automation system used to control a gas turbine.

Here we are working with some heavy fuel reciprocating engines from Hyundai Heavy Industries. These are a great design of modular generation and support units all housed in ISO 40' containers for rapid deployment. It’s a pleasure to work with such well-engineered packages.