General Electric Company
System and method for higher plant efficiency

Abstract:

A steam cycle system includes a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) which receives exhaust gases, a steam turbine coupled to the HRSG which receives a first steam flow generated by the HRSG, and a condenser which condenses a second steam flow output by the steam turbine. The condenser includes a plurality of heat exchanger tubes, a fan, and a steam collection header. The system includes one or more sensors which measure one or more properties of the steam flow. The system includes a closed-loop controller communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors. The controller receives data from the one or more sensors, determines a flow rate of the second steam flow through the steam header using the one or more sensors, calculates whether the flow rate of the steam is within a threshold, and adjusts one or more operating parameters of the fan.