Prospect of Russian technology in Vietnam's energy projects

Mrs. Anastasia Kozlova- Director of PJSC Power Machines Office in Hanoi.

VietnamEnergy: Mrs. Anastasia, will you please evaluate the process of cooperation of Power Machines with Vietnamese partners for 50 years in a row, as well as potential and opportunities for cooperation in future to which both sides should draw attention?

Mrs. Anastasia: Cooperation of the Russian leader in power-plant engineering - Power Machines with the Republic of Vietnam commenced more than half a century ago with delivery of three generators for Thac Ba HPP, being for many years the most powerful in the country.

Later on there were projects of Uong Bi and Pha Lai TPPs, as well as Tri An and Hoa Binh HPPs. At the beginning of the 2000s Power Machines returned to the Vietnamese market in the capacity of participant of two HPP projects - Ialy and Can Don. Contracts for construction of Se San-3 HPP and the second stage of Uong Bi TPP helped to nail down a success. Overall capacity of units and hydropower units manufactured by enterprises of Power Machines and installed in Vietnam as up to the present moment comprised more than 4.5 thousand MW - about 15% of currently existing generating capacities of the country.

And today, when talking about cooperation opportunities, we can develop the sphere of long-term service maintenance of the plants having been constructed by the company. In such a case Power Machines is ready to develop hydropower engineering, including small-scale power generation: extensions of hydroelectric installations and construction of new plants are included in the list of company references.

The signing of the contract for the construction of Long Phu-1 TPP with the capacity of 1200 MW, which came into effect in 2015, became the most important moment in the history of partnership between Vietnamese power engineers and Power Machines.

VietnamEnergy: Tell us please what scientific-and-technological achievements and/or new design solutions were implemented in the project for construction of Long Phu TPP?

Mrs. Anastasia: Tо begin with I should say, it is the first time when the company implements the EPC-project abroad. That’s why we were scrupulous about each part of the project and developed entirely new solutions.

For example, steam boiler for generating unit of Long Phu TPP, working on which we took into consideration all modern tendencies in the boiler industry as well as long-term experience of our relevant manufacturing plant – the Taganrog Boiler-Making Works “Krasny kotelschik” (TKZ).

The main feature of the boiler is its operation at wide range of specified fuel characteristics and its specific ash properties that defines special requirements when designing furnace arrangement.

Outstanding and complicated solutions were applied for designing effective and reliable furnace arrangement:

- Burners, which provide required speed rate of fuel-air mixture (mixture of fuel and primary air), and secondary air at all combinations of fuel characteristics were developed.

- In order to protect burners against abrasion wear they are furnished with protective covers made of abrasion resistant ceramic components.

- Required level of nitrogen oxides emissions is provided by in-furnace operations (lower air blasting, recycle gas supply) and installation of DeNOx equipment.

Established burning process flow diagram and burners design were thoroughly analyzed, including application of mathematic simulation.

In order for a boiler to make start-ups and changes in load at variable steam parameters, special cycle arrangement of curtain walls was developed and also starting circuit components were applied such as in-line steam separator, measuring tank (unloading manifold), fluid recirculation pump and special startup “dump” system.

Furthermore, boiler features the number of new structural elements (V-type ash hopper unit, various supports, mountings, etc.), which were designed using mathematic simulation of strain-stress state. It was possible to optimize the units weight without deterioration in reliability of design. All stages – engineering, material selection and checkout are made in full conformity with ASME standards.

VietnamEnergy: You claim that there are prospects for service deployment regarding renovation, modernization of hydroelectric power plants built in the Soviet period, such as Hoa Binh, Thac Ba, Ialy and Tri An.

Mrs. Anastasia: Power Machines highly interested to be in further cooperation and partnership on facilities already put in operation. We established the service facility. All our services are presented in it: commissioning supervision, erection supervision, inspection and diagnostics services - we have excellent competences at it.

Currently, the company is ready to procure the supply of spare parts to earlier built plants within service contracts. For instance, in this year an runner was delivered to Hoa Binh HPP to replace the existing runner at one of the units. Hydropower unit equipment condition survey will be carried out and, in the long term, there could be supply of new runners for 7 other hydropower units. We have got solid experience in project administration: the company provides the chief control and assistance of repairs of any complexity. Operating personnel of the plants (Ialy, Hoa Binh and Tri An HPPs) underlines high reliability of equipment and absence of complaints regarding its operation.

When we talk about increase of capacity of plants, the increase of operating life through usage of advanced materials and technologies and expansion of working ranges - then we see such potential at Ialy, Hoa Binh and Tri An HPPs.

Thus, for Hoa Binh HPP there is a possibility of extension of hydroelectric installation with the installation of two additional hydropower units, which will ensure power ascension up to 270 MW for each unit and improved cavitation resistance and strength characteristics. For Ialy HPP there are options of hydroelectric installation extension through erection of two additional hydropower units, which will ensure power ascension up to 190 MW for each unit and improved cavitation resistance and strength characteristics.

VietnamEnergy: In Vietnam Russian partners, in general, and Power Machines, in particular, possess solid experience in the field of anthracitic coal combustion. What achievements/ improvements were made by the company with regard to anthracitic boiler engineering and manufacturing?

Mrs. Anastasia: As specialists mention, anthracitic coal is a “difficult” fuel for combustion in boilers. The fact is that it features very low ignition capability. The cause is low volatile matter content, i.e. gaseous substances produced by the fuel during its heating and triggering ignition. Their content is very low in anthracitic coal.

If coal with a good reactive capacity contains more than 20%, then in anthracitic coal it is less than 8%, but Vietnam’s anthracitic coal, which is specified fuel for Uong Bi TPP, for example, contains just about 4%. Such anthracitic coal is called poor. And it is available not only in Vietnam, similar coals are available also in Russia and CIS countries, thanks to which our specialists gained important experience in combusting such coals.

As a result of multi-year investigations we developed special solutions focused on assurance of proper anthracitic coal ignition and burn-up. For example, pulverized coal grind, high temperature of fuel mixing with primary air upstream of burners, high temperature of secondary air, high temperature in combustion area of furnace chamber.

These solutions are applied in boiler design at unit with the capacity of 300 MW at Uong Bi TPP. Proven experience of equipment operation is the perfect demonstration of reasonable implementation. So our boilers are capable to provide successful combustion of anthracitic coal, moreover, poor coal can be burned without additional gas/oil fuel within boiler loading range of 100÷70%.

VietnamEnergy: Are there any other results/achievements of Power Machines in recent times in the field of Research and Development?

Mrs. Anastasia: Among main directions in the field of research and development of Power Machines is manufacturing of basic and auxiliary equipment for thermal, nuclear and hydraulic power plants corresponding to the level of the best worldwide specimens.

The company pays considerable attention to widening the range of manufactured equipment based on the development of new innovative products with technical characteristics equal to world analogues. On the basis of patent research practice, products of the company possess high level of patent immunity for new installation concepts and technologies.

At the present time Power Machines is focused on the development of half-speed and full-speed turbines with the capacity of 1255 MW and above; steam turbines and generators with the capacity of 660 MW and above for TPPs operating at supercritical steam parameters; steam turbines with the capacity of 100-300 MW for operation in CCGT system; modernization package for turbines and generators with the capacity of 200-1200 MW with improved technical-and-economic indices, including conversion to operation in circuits of CCGT equipment, not only of domestic manufacture but also of other manufacturers.

The development and realization of modern engineering boiler furnace design procedures, as well as off-the-shelf solutions regarding selection of combustion arrangements for various fuel groups and capacity line of steam generators; selection and optimization of heat balance diagrams and circuit design of steam generators of different capacity with the purpose of reduction in metal consumption, hydraulic resistance and aerodynamic drag in water/steam and air-gas flow paths, etc. are carried out in the field of modern steam generators manufacturing for TPP.

For purposes of hydropower engineering, we work on the development of high-performance radial-axial turbines with heads of 250-400 m; adjustable-blade turbines of improved reliability for heads of 15-25 m with improved cavitation resistance properties. Special experiments on abrasion investigation were performed in water turbine laboratory with regard to assembly units of hydraulic turbines resulted in implementation of lubrication free bearings in power-generating equipment on the basis of new materials. The result is lower ingress of oil into water and considerable improvement of the environmental performance of equipment.

For implementation of its own plans oriented to production of new equipment Power Machines constantly upgrades its production works. Over the 2009 to 2011 period we implemented a project related to production site commissioning near Saint-Petersburg. This complex is designed for production of steam turbines and turbogenerators with the capacity of more than 500 MW for large-scale thermal power plants and nuclear power plants, including steam turbines for NPP in full-speed and half-speed version with the capacity of 1200 MW with option for expanding products range up to 1800 MW (in half-speed version). The most high-tech equipment of complex permits us to manufacture up to four sets of powerful steam turbines and turbogenerators for NPP per year.

VietnamEnergy: What are, in your opinion, opportunities for realization of marketing and sales strategy of the company in Southeast Asia region?

Mrs. Anastasia: If we talk about the specific fields, these are entry to the market of geothermal power in Indonesia and delivery of equipment for implementation of projects connected with biomass in Thailand, construction of small HPP in Cambodia, Myanma, Laos, Vietnam, implementation of the HPP construction project in Laos, supply of low-capacity steam turbines to Thailand for purposes of sugar refining industry and many others plans.

In September 2017 client conference took place in Hanoi. Event involving reports and presentations devoted to our complete product line was arranged as real conversation with discussions and many questions. Our partners were interested in turbines with capacities from 600 to 1200 MW, as well as in turbines for NPP, steam turbines for supercritical and ultra-supercritical steam parameters, proposals on equipment service with long operating life. Great attention also was paid to products for HPP. Vietnamese power engineers became interested in possibility to provide bearing insulation and install new thrust bearing segments and bearing with special coating. There is an agreement to discuss this problem during a separate meeting.

Now we support active involvement in thematic exhibitions, conferences, we make reports and onsite presentations. The company is interested in development in different fields, especially since references are available everywhere.

VietnamEnergy:  Thank you for the interview.

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