FOUR YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATION AT MERCER GENERATING STATION FOLLOWING FEEDWATER HEATER TUBE REPAIR - AN ALTERNATIVE TO REPLACEMENT

摘要

In the late 1990's, two of the high-pressure feedwater heaters at PSEG Power LLC's Mercer Generating Station began to experience tube leaks after almost 40 years of operation. Prior to the repair, these leaks were occurring at least once per month. Based on eddy current and video probe inspections, the area of tube degradation appeared to be isolated to the desuperheater region of the bundle. PSEG Power LLC performed a life assessment of the feedwater heaters and, based on the good condition of the remainder of the heaters, determined that repair of the desuperheater region could improve the reliability and significantly extend the operating life of the heat exchangers. The heater condition, coupled with a repair vs. replace economic model, led to the decision to sleeve the feedwater heaters.