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PERC – CASE STUDY

PERC WASTE-TO-ENERGY

Boiler B

Fabrication & Installation – Superheater and Burner panels

About the Company

Since 1988, PERC has been a reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound waste disposal solution for the state of Maine. PERC receives, processes and converts the waste into renewable energy using 2 WTE units.

Project Scope

Fabrication, removal and installation of new High Tem- perature Superheat and Primary Superheat pendant as- semblies along with 2 new Burner Panel walls in “B” boiler.

Fabrication

Helfrich Brothers fabricated :

29 High Temp Superheat Pendants
29 Primary Superheat Pendants
2 Burner Panels or this project.

Field Installation

Helfrich Brothers mobilized to site and removed old Superheater tubes & burner panels. Tubes were prepped and the new fabricated parts were installed. Additionally, weld overlay repairs were completed.

The project took 20 shifts working around the clock.

Turnkey Team Service

Helfrich Brothers completed this project Turnkey using multiple Helfrich Brothers Service Groups:

Field Service—Removal, Installation, Overlay
Plant Service—Scaffolding. The scaffolding was engineered and designed to accommodate the removal and installation work of the Field Service Group.
Plant Service—Refractory work required to complete this project.
Technical Service—provided NDE testing services.
Power Fabrication—fabrication of all boiler panels & parts

“Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works provided us a turnkey service in fabrication, removal and in- stallation of our new superheater tubes.”

June 16, 2022

Covanta Lancaster – CASE STUDY

COVANTA LANCASTER

Turn-Key Service

Fabrication, Installation of Refractory Lined Hopper Panels

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About the Company

Covanta Lancaster is a 3 boiler, 1200 tons per day Waste-to-Energy Facility located in Banbridge, PA.

Executive Summary

Convection Hoppers were in need of replacement. This required new fabricated shells, a new refractory lining, and removal and installation. While these were 3 separate RFP’s, Helfrich was able to supply all 3 services under one turn-key contract.

Shop Work

The hopper shells needed to be engineered and designed in sec-tions to accommodate a pre-cast refractory lining. 12 panels per hopper were fabricated in our 95,000 sf shop in Lawrence, MA.

Refractory was cast into the panels using Surcast FSP RT from Vesuvius, a fused silica based with FAST FIRE capabilities.

Refractory panels were cured and dried, prior to shipment to the field.

Field Work

Once in the field, the existing lagging, insulation and refractory needed to be removed from the hopper. The hopper steel then needed to be cut out in sections and removed.

Once all the new panels were rigged & welded into place, the seams were gunned and the hopper was put into operation.

The Results

Pre-fabricated refractory lined panels were shipped to the field. The old hoppers were removed, and new panels installed to the boiler. The hoppers were then reinsulated and supplied with new lagging off HBBW provided scaffolding.

By having one contractor take on this whole project, from fabrication, refractory lining, demolition, installation, insulation and scaffolding, the project was completed on-time with no additional charges for delays by others.

“Covanta Management was very happy with the project management, project execution, safety, and overall impression of Helfrich Brothers.”

June 16, 2022

Covanta Essex – CASE STUDY

COVANTA ESSEX

Pre-Cyclone Replacement

Turn-Key Fabrication, Engineering, & On-Site Installation Services.

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About the Company

Covanta Essex is a Resource Recovery Facility that sustainably pro-cesses up to 985,500 tons of waste, generates enough electricity to power 46,000 homes annually and recovers over 25,000 tons of metals for recycle.

Executive Summary

The Pre-Cyclone is located in bottom of Pollution Control Scrubber System and is lined with abrasion resistant ceramic tiles to protect against the high wear of fly ash collected at the bottom. After several years of repair and maintenance, the time had come for a replacement of the fabricated cone and ceramic lining. Helfrich Brothers was hired to fabricate a new cone, install the ceramic lining, remove the old cone and install the new.

The Challenges

Outage schedules do not allow for time to remove the old metal cone, install a new one and then install a ceramic lining. Pre-outage work would be necessary as access and space would also not allow this work to be completed offsite.

The Solution

Fabricate the metal cyclone in sections to rig into work area. Build a frame to weld the sections to a finished shape for installation of ceramic tiles right next to existing pre-cyclone. All this work could be completed Pre-Outage to save time and no change in schedule.

Field Work—Pre Outage

The Cyclone was fabricated in 6 pieces in HB’s Lawrence, MA shop, shipped to the plant, and lifted into place near the existing pre-cyclone. A frame was also built for the welding into a one piece cone and the installation of 2500+ pcs of a 90% alumina ceramic tile.

Field Work—Outage

The old cyclone was removed in sections. The connec-tion point was repaired and the new cone was installed in place. Once installed, additional tile and refractory work was completed to tie the new lining into the exist-ing. Once installed Insulation and Lagging were placed on the exterior of the surface.

The Results

The Project Plan to replace an entire ceramic lined cone by doing the majority of the work pre-outage onsite right next to the existing cone worked great. By the time the outage came, we were able to complete the removal and replacement within the scheduled outage time frame.

“Helfrich Brothers turn-key approach and exe-cution of this project from fabrication, engi-neering, Pre and Post outage on-site services was very key to getting this project completed successfully and ontime” – Covanta Essex Maintenance Dept

July 2, 2021

ROCHDALE POWER PLANT – CASE STUDY

ROCHDALE POWER PLANT

Rochdale Power Plant is a 21 MW facility that generates all the electrical power, heating, air conditioning, and hot water for a residential co-op and two shopping malls.

Repowering Project for Package Boilers – Redesign & Retubing

Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works was selected as the EPC for the repowering project. Three of the four package boilers were completely retubed with many furnace design changes implemented. A fifth unit was added to the plant as part of the repower project.

The Challenges

The original boilers went into operation in approximately 1963.

The Solution

HBBW Engineering redesigned the superheater casing and rear walls. Thermal and Stress Analyses were performed to confirm redesign. New CAD drawings for shop fabrication and field installation were created. HBBW procured the materials required and fabricated all parts necessary in their 95,000 SF shop.

The Results

Fabricated tubes and parts were shipped to the field. Complete retubing of each boiler, superheater, and economizer was required. Only steam and mud drums remained after a complete inspection and assessment. Field services completed the demolition and installation. Once complete the outside was insulated and covered with lagging for protection.

“HBBW was the perfect choice as EPC for our repowering project. They had all the expertise and knowledge in-house and were able to engineer, fabricate, and provide on-site installation services to complete on this project on-time and safely.” – Project Manager

June 29, 2021

ECONOMIZER EXPANSION JOINT – CASE STUDY

ECONOMIZER EXPANSION JOINT

Turn-Key Service – Fabrication, Scaffolding and Installation

Executive Summary

An expansion joint in an Power Plant Economizer inlet duct rated at
750 degree F was in need of replacement. This duct was located up
over 70 ft up in the air and safe access was required. The plan was
to remove and replace the fabric belt and damaged flow liner
shield. Helfrich Brothers was able to supply all 3 services under one
turnkey contract.

Engineer & Fabrication

The new fabric expansion joint was designed & fabricated out of HB -500 series material attached to fiberglass reinforced cloth over high temperature insulation in our 95,000 SF facility in Lawrence, MA.

Plant Services – Scaffolding

Plant Services erected a scaffold of a platform to safely access the expansion joint on all 4 sides for removal and replacement, and also removed and replaced lagging and insulation that surrounded the expansion joint.

Field Service – Remove & Installation

Field Service group removed existing fabric joint, and replaced it with a new high temperature insulation pillow and
the fabric expansion joints fabricated in our shop. A partial
metal flow liner was replaced in worn out area.
The project occurred during a normal spring outage in
2021.

THE RESULTS

Expansion joint replacement can be simple and cost
effective if you can provide all the services needed to
get the job done:

Engineering
Fabrication
Scaffolding
Lagging & Insulation Support
Removal and installation.

“Having Helfrich Brothers coordinate and manage the entire project made this a success.”

January 11, 2021

NAES HARTFORD / M.I.R.A.

Retrofit and Reverse Engineering of a Common Breaching Duct in Record Time

THE CHALLENGE:

The existing common breaching duct leading into the stack needed to be replaced in a extremely fast timeline.
The duct was 260 feet long and weighed over 65 tons.
All 3 EfW boilers fed into the duct and replacement required all 3 units to be offline.
Plant had no drawings of the duct work that could be used for new fabrication.

HBBW has been working in NAES Hartford for over 25 years.

THE SOLUTION & RESULTS:

HBBW reversed engineered new duct sections. All fabrication was done in our 95,000 SF shop in Lawrence, MA and shipped to the site.
HBBW Field & Plant Services Groups worked during outage.
Utilized HBBW multi-crafted crews under one roof to coordinate scaffolding, removal of old duct work, pre-insulation, installation of new breaching duct work from the baghouse to the stack, and final lagging of insulation.
Completed the project in record time of 11 shifts (5.5 days) resulting in big savings to the plant because they were able to get online as quickly as possible.

“HBBW added value to NAES by providing a turn-key solution solving a problem we had with a worn-out breaching duct. They were able to engineer, fabricate, and provide the on-site services to complete the work in record time.”

– Plant Engineer at NAES

June 10, 2020

Spray Attemperator System Addition

Minnesota

A 55 megawatt renewable energy power plant needed an additional spray attemperation system added to the boiler.

The boiler at the facility is a Foster Wheeler design that went into operation approximately 2007. The boiler is a natural circulation, superheated, balanced draft design, single furnace, stoker fired unit firing biomass, including poultry litter. The boiler is rated to produce steam for a steam turbine generator rated approximately 55 MW. The boiler produces 490,000 pph of steam at 1,555 psig and 980 °F.

The boiler has three superheater sections; primary, intermediate, and final. There is currently a spray attemperation system located at the intermediate superheater outlet. The client has indicated that the steam temperatures at the outlet of the intermediate superheater are higher than desired for reliable long term operation, and desired the addition of spray attemperation at the outlet of the primary superheater, among other measures, to reduce the excessive tube temperatures.

Scope of Work

Field Inspection
Engineering and design
- Prepare piping layout
- Determine pipe layout of piping and support locations
- Determine pipe sizes and thickness
- Review of suspension level steel in vicinity of new pipe for support location development
- Prepare general arrangement drawing
- Develop design criteria
- Evaluate piping using STAAD computer modeling
- Prepare pressure parts calculations
- Specify spray station nozzles, valves, and instruments
- Prepare general arrangement of attemperation water system piping

June 9, 2020

86 Intermediate Superheater Assemblies

Minnesota

A 55 megawatt renewable energy power plant needed to replace 86 intermediate super heater assemblies.

The Superheater

Scope of Work

Field Inspection
Engineering (Installation/arrangement and shop fabrication drawings)
Material procurement
Fabricate 86 intermediate superheater pendants complete with 360 degree Inconel weld overlay in lieu of tube shields, S.S. hand-cuff tube supports, and all solid ties.
HB Field Services performed the demo and installation on the new elements.

June 8, 2020

102” Diameter Cryogenic Vaporizer

Lawrence, Massachusetts

A long-time client of Helfrich Brothers is a global supplier to the industrial gas market with vaporizers manufactured in compliance with ASME, EU PED, SQL, ATEX and many other codes.

Helfrich brothers was asked to take on a fast-track project in the Fall of 2017.

Scope of Work

• Material procurement
• ASME vessel fabrication
• Burner installation
• Fab and install gas train skid
• Install, wire, and test control system

June 6, 2020

HRSG Superheater Replacement

Plainfield, CT

Plainfield Renewable Energy (PRE) is a net 37.5 MW woody biomass electrical generation facility located in Plainfield, Connecticut. The facility was experiencing extended forced outages due to tube failures in the high temperature T91/P91 superheater assembly.

PRE utilizes a state-of-the-art staged fluid bed gasification system and an Alstom steam turbine to generate approximately 290,000 MW annually. The plant is equipped with a baghouse for particulate control, urea injection for NOx control, and limestone and hydrated lime injection combined with a circulating dry scrubber for sulfur dioxide control.

The boiler is a modularized HRSG (heat recovery steam generator) type originally provided by an Outotec (formerly Energy Products of Idaho or EPI), with a bubbling fluidized bed gasifier. The facility went into operation approximately December of 2013. The boiler is a natural circulation, superheated, balanced draft design unit firing biomass waste. The boiler was originally designed to produce 366,648 pph of steam at 1550 psig and 955 °F at the superheater outlet.

HBBW Scope of Work

HBBW’s scope included a complete design analysis, fabrication and installation of a shop-fabricated Superheater #1 section in two harps using stainless steel for all tubes and headers. The superheater was re-designed and replaced to improve the reliability with replacement of the T91 tubing and P91 headers with stainless steel.

The boiler design analysis included a thermal and hydraulic analysis to review the existing design. A thermal model was prepared of the steam and flue gas temperature, pressures, and flow profile through the boiler. A hydraulic model was prepared to evaluate the steam side distribution through the harp tubing. The hydraulic flow imbalance of the existing superheater was calculated to be below generally accepted industry standards which resulted in unstable, unpredictable steam flow in the circuits and lead to high tube metal temperatures. Hydraulic flow imbalance to the final leg of the high temperature superheater was improved by underdrilling the inlet header of the final superheater pass.

Engineering
- Re-design of the final superheater to eliminate T91/P91 components and replace with stainless steel material
- Thermal analysis of the boiler (HRSG) to establish pressure, temperature, and flow profiles of the steam and flue gas paths
- Hydraulic analysis to correct steam side flow unbalance with the addition of orifices
- Stress analysis to support material change to stainless steel
- Flexibility analysis to accommodate the thermal expansion characteristics of stainless steel
- Required ASME Code alteration documentation and calculations
- Installation/arrangement and shop fabrication drawings
Complete removal of the existing superheater
Material procurement
Fabrication
Installation of the redesigned superheater and interconnecting high pressure piping
Refractory, insulation and lagging

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