SPEEDTRONIC VIe Control System

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bronx9669

Hi,

I am the EPC. in my project I was asked to study SPEEDTRONIC VI Control System for Gas Turbine.

Please tell me what are the important things to be considered for this because I really new in this regard.

Thank you in advance.
 
Bronx9669,

The below presumes you are working on a new plant.... You didn't say exactly what kind of work is being done with the Mark VIe (new unit installation; retrofit/upgrade).

What you need to know--and this can be mostly gleaned from the Mark VIe System Guide, GEK-6721, is about routing and segregation of wiring into and out of the Mark VIe control panel. Also, you need to be aware of the type of Ethernet and/or fiber optic cables being used to interconnect the various pieces of equipment no the site (Mark VIe turbine control panel(s); HMIs; EX2100e (if used); LCI (Static Starter, if used); DCS; etc.).

Wire/cable segregation is VERY important and if not done correctly can lead to LOTS of problems (and nuisance Diagnostic Alarms) for decades after the installation. It's next to impossible to re-route wires and cables if they were not properly segregated after the installation or during commissioning, or one or seven years later.

So, understanding the minimum separation distances between types of signal- and power cables is critical to a good installation.

Also, it's very important to purchase and install and properly terminate all networking cabling--including copper Ethernet cabling and fiber optic cabling. MANY installation contractors do NOT properly terminate fiber optic cables which causes them to be damaged--which can lead to outages. Fiber optic cables should be properly secured and terminated in "patch" cable enclosures, with proper fiber optic jumpers used to connect the cables to the Ethernet switches. Too many sites just put the terminations on the fibers from the cable and plug them into the Ethernet swiches--and because the fibers are fragile they quite frequently get damaged.

Lastly, you need to take into consideration the AC power for the Ethernet switches and HMIs and printers. It should be coming from a suitably sized UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) or plant inverter (which can convert DC to AC when station AC is lost). I see a LOT of sites which have the inverter output on continuously, and on loss of station AC it tries to switch to the "alternate" supply--which is improper configured as station AC. And things go blank. One has to carefully consider what is the normal supply and what is the alternate supply--in the case of many inverters, the alternate supply is the normal station AC. So they must be configured to switch to the "normal" supply (the inverter output) on loss of station AC. (Yes; it's kind of backwards--but one has to remember that for the inverter manufacturer, their output is the "normal" supply, and the station AC is the alternate supply.)

So, as an EPC, you need to know about the various types of signals in use (power and control; high- and low-level) and specify/obtain the proper types of cables for the various types of devices, and to make sure the suitable level of separation is maintained between the various types of wires/cables (power; signal; high- and low-level; etc.). You also need to understand the network cabling requirements (multi-mode fiber, or single-mode fiber; Cat 5E; Cat 6; Cat 6E; etc.) and how cables should be PROPERLY terminated at both ends. Also, you need to be aware of AC power requirements for the HMI and networking equipment, including printers and Ethernet switches, to ensure uninterrupted operation on loss of station AC (not the power plants ever lose station AC .... Me, I personally never enter or work in a power plant without a torch (flashlight) in my pocket or on my person; they lose power all too frequently and all too suddenly, and all too unexpectedly.)

Hope this helps! You should find most of the information about wiring/cabling and networking in Volume I of GEK-6721, the Mark VIe System Guide. You will need the 'Network Topology Drawing' to show how all the equipment is networked together. You will need to obtain the Cable Block Diagram, and the Interconnection Diagrams for cable information. There used to a drawing the GE provided called the 'Cable Installation, Speedtronic' which VERY EXPLICITLY detailed the types of cables, the minimum separation distances (in cable trays, or conduits (metal or non-metal), in control enclosures, etc.)--if they're still providing that it's VERY useful.
 
Thank you very much CSA have responded to my question. What I want is how to determine the rung in the ladder. I opened every rung ToolboxST just see it. I want to know the rung of the ladder.
 
bronx9669,

I'm afraid I'm not quite clear what it is you're asking. If you're asking how to read/understand relay ladder logic and diagrams, well, the Mark VIe uses FBDs (Function Block Diagrams) to display what's called the 'application code'--the sequencing, or logic, for control and protection. The FBDs GE uses generally have some graphical representation that makes them look like relay ladder diagrams (since that's what GE has used for decades for control and protection) and they really haven't changed anything--except the way it's graphically displayed (using FBDs).

I'm not quite sure why the EPC needs to know about relay ladder logic, but if that's what you need to learn and understand that's way beyond the ability of this forum to teach. I can refer you to some other related threads to begin your journey of learning relay ladder diagrams and logic and how to interpret GE-design heavy duty gas turbine signal naming (I believe they are in the process of changing their signal naming conventions--why stick with what's worked for decades, when they can introduce new things and make everyone learn something new and (only allegedly) improved?). Here's the first in a series of threads which you may find useful:

http://control.com/thread/1399292917

There are several other threads which continue this same topic:

http://control.com/thread/1405133283

http://control.com/thread/1409237312

http://control.com/thread/1413720150

There's a very powerful 'Search' feature on control.com, cleverly hidden at the far right corner of the Menu bar of every control.com webpage. (It's suggested you use the Search 'Help' to learn the syntax, because while it's not like most Internet search engines it's is very powerful and fast.)

Another tip is that if a contributor or poster is registered on control.com (indicated by their name appearing in blue instead of black) you can click on the name and a history of all the posts the member has contributed to or originated.

If you have questions, we're here to help. If you need clarification, we're here to help.
 
bronx9669,

Could you tell us what your focus is in studying the Mark VIe control system? Are you looking for something specific, or multiple things?

Are you just trying to understand the sequence of events of the gas turbine and auxiliaries? Is there some specific set of events you want to know about?

Those are the probable reasons an EPC (which I interpret to be an Engineering Procurement Contractor) would be most interested in--if they're not interested in interconnection and grounding (the "installation" part of the equipment supply). If you can be more specific, we can try to help. If you're trying to learn relay ladder diagram logic to try to find some specific events or signals, it's going to be very difficult if this is your first exposure to GE-design heavy duty gas turbines. You will likely find it very time-consuming and somewhat frustrating.

Another thing to note is that if you hover the cursor over a signal name in ToolboxST I believe (if typically configured) the signal description (sometimes called the "longname") will appear in the lower left-hand corner of the ToolboxST window (I don't have a copy of ToolboxST I can check that with--but I'm confident it will work that way). The longname is an attempt at explaining signal names like L33CB10, or TNH. They might mean something to someone with some heavy duty gas turbine experience or exposure, but they're probably not going to mean anything to someone with little or no heavy duty turbine experience or exposure.

So, if you can tell us what you're looking for, we can direct to where you can find it.
 
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