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60-425: This plant has one Combustion Engineering two-loop pressurized water reactor . The plant has a maximum dependable capacity of 1,152 megawatts of electricity . The power station's main generator is rated at 1333.2 MVA at a 0.9 power factor (60 psi hydrogen pressure). In 2005, the plant was approved for a 8% (275 MWt) power uprate. The post-uprate nominal main generator output was rated at 1231 MW. The reactor has

120-420: A fossil fuel power plant using a steam cycle for power generation, the primary heat source will be combustion of coal , oil , or natural gas . In some cases byproduct fuel such as the carbon monoxide rich offgasses of a coke battery can be burned to heat a boiler; biofuels such as bagasse , where economically available, can also be used. In a nuclear power plant, boilers called steam generators are heated by

180-448: A steam locomotive . This is because unavoidable temperature and/or pressure loss that occurs as steam travels from the boiler to the machinery will cause some condensation, resulting in liquid water being carried into the machinery. The water entrained in the steam may damage turbine blades or in the case of a reciprocating steam engine , may cause serious mechanical damage due to hydrostatic lock . Superheated steam boilers evaporate

240-405: A boiler is combustion of any of several fuels , such as wood , coal , oil , or natural gas . Electric steam boilers use resistance- or immersion-type heating elements. Nuclear fission is also used as a heat source for generating steam , either directly (BWR) or, in most cases, in specialised heat exchangers called "steam generators" (PWR). Heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) use

300-421: A dry ambient pressure containment building . On August 28, 2005, Waterford shut down due to Hurricane Katrina approaching and declared an unusual event, the least-serious of a four-level emergency classification scale . Shortly after Katrina, Waterford restarted and resumed normal operation. During the 2011 Mississippi River floods , the plant was shut down briefly after a refueling shutdown on April 6, but

360-516: A patented algorithm to allow higher power densities . Combustion also fabricated a number of the Westinghouse reactor vessels and steam generators at its Chattanooga manufacturing facility under contracts with the Westinghouse company. C-E maintained a sophisticated nuclear reactor operator training simulator at the Windsor facility for support for customers of its nuclear steam supply systems. In

420-605: A separate headquarters and support staff which coordinated each group's companies actions with the C-E Corporate support functions of Administration, Information Systems, Insurance, Treasury, Accounting, Audit, and Personnel. C-E had a large presence in Canada, including fossil and nuclear steam supply manufacturing facilities. A number of the Industrial Group companies had manufacturing facilities there as well, primarily located in

480-442: A source of many serious injuries and property destruction due to poorly understood engineering principles. Thin and brittle metal shells can rupture, while poorly welded or riveted seams could open up, leading to a violent eruption of the pressurized steam. When water is converted to steam it expands to over 1,000 times its original volume and travels down steam pipes at over 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). Because of this, steam

540-1455: A specialty scrap metal operation in Chattanooga); and was basically divided into three major sub-groups: Fossil, Nuclear, and Services (which included field erection, aftermarket spare parts, and engineering services). The Industrial Group included C-E Industrial Boiler (part of the original base of CE in East Chicago, IN and Detroit & Saginaw, MI), C-E Bauer (Pulp & Paper Equipment), C-E Raymond (Crushing and Conveying Equipment), C-E Air Preheater (Ljungström® technology), C-E Tyler Screening (Industrial Wire Screens), C-E Ehrsham (Conveyors & Grain Elevators). C-E Enterprise Manufacturing, C-E Tyler Elevator, CERREY, and other industrial supply companies. The Oil & Gas Group included such companies as C-E Natco, C-E Grey Tool, Beaumont Well Works, C-E Vetco, OilField Engineering, C-E Houston Forging, etc. The Refractories & Minerals Group included C-E Minerals, C-E Refractories, C-E Cast Industrial Products, C-E Building Products (C-E Aluminum Building Products, C-E Morgan, C-E Stanley Artex), Georgia Kaolin, Pryor-Giggey, C-E Transport, C-E Glass, C-E Hordis Bros. Glass, etc. The Instrumentation & Controls group included C-E Taylor Instruments, C-E Resource Recovery Systems, C-E Process Analytics (acquired from Bendix), et al. Each group had

600-522: Is an efficient method of moving energy and heat around a site from a central boiler house to where it is needed, but without the right boiler feedwater treatment, a steam-raising plant will suffer from scale formation and corrosion. At best, this increases energy costs and can lead to poor quality steam, reduced efficiency, shorter plant life and unreliable operation. At worst, it can lead to catastrophic failure and loss of life. Collapsed or dislodged boiler tubes can also spray scalding-hot steam and smoke out of

660-414: Is boiled the result is saturated steam , also referred to as "wet steam." Saturated steam, while mostly consisting of water vapor, carries some unevaporated water in the form of droplets. Saturated steam is useful for many purposes, such as cooking , heating and sanitation , but is not desirable when steam is expected to convey energy to machinery, such as a ship's propulsion system or the "motion" of

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720-408: Is by simply using an induced draught fan (ID fan) which removes flue gases from the furnace and forces the exhaust gas up the stack. Almost all induced draught furnaces operate with a slightly negative pressure. Mechanical forced draught is provided by means of a fan forcing air into the combustion chamber. Air is often passed through an air heater; which, as the name suggests, heats the air going into

780-453: Is often used in superheater sections that will not be exposed to boiling water , and electrically-heated stainless steel shell boilers are allowed under the European "Pressure Equipment Directive" for production of steam for sterilizers and disinfectors. In live steam models , copper or brass is often used because it is more easily fabricated in smaller size boilers. Historically, copper

840-520: Is owned by Entergy Louisiana, Inc. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination , and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity. The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Waterford

900-679: The Great Depression , C-E formed a partnership with the Superheater Company. The Locomotive Superheater Company was founded in 1910 to further the use of superheated steam in locomotives . The Superheater Company's primary manufacturing facility was located in East Chicago, Indiana . In December 1948 stockholders approved a merger between the Combustion Engineering Company and Superheater Company. Following consolidation

960-416: The condenser . This results in slightly less fuel use and therefore less greenhouse gas production. The term "boiler" should not be used for a supercritical pressure steam generator, as no "boiling" occurs in this device. A fuel -heated boiler must provide air to oxidize its fuel. Early boilers provided this stream of air, or draught , through the natural action of convection in a chimney connected to

1020-557: The 1960s, and continuing through 1988, C-E acquired a number of companies, many not directly related to the core utility steam supply business. As a result, the company structure evolved so that it had five and later six major business groups or divisions. C-E Power Systems comprised the original utility steam supply components, C-E Industrial Group, C-E Lummus & Engineering Services Group, C-E Refractories & Minerals Group, C-E Oil & Gas Group, and last C-E Instrumentation & Controls Group were formed to provide management focus as

1080-410: The 46 Knox -class frigates built during the 1960s and 1970s were equipped with a 1,200- pound-per-square-inch (8,300 kPa) C-E power plant. C-E also was a leader in the development of large coal utility steam supply systems which were used worldwide. C-E pioneered the tangential firing process used in modern large pulverized coal utility boilers. C-E maintained a large coal burning test unit at

1140-642: The Morgan Door Company. The company was acquired by Asea Brown Boveri in early 1990. The boiler and fossil fuel businesses were purchased by Alstom in 2000, and the nuclear business was purchased by Westinghouse Electric Company also in 2000. Combustion Engineering was organized in 1912 through the merger of the Grieve Grate Company and the American Stoker Company, two well-known manufacturers of fuel burning equipment. The company

1200-567: The Santry family controlled the management of C-E. Joseph Santry was President of the company until 1963. Arthur Santry, Jr., Joseph's nephew, was named president in 1963 and Chairman of the C-E Board of Directors in 1982 and held both titles until he resigned his post as president in 1984. He remained as chairman until 1988. Charles Hugel was named President of C-E in 1984 and remained in that position until 1988 when he succeeded Mr. Santry as chairman of

1260-686: The Type-E. During the 1920s, all of C-E's stokers were fabricated in manufacturing plants along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh . In 1925 C-E entered the steam boiler business, beginning with a steam boiler installed at the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, MI . C-E also acquired two boiler companies in Chattanooga, TN to augment its manufacturing capabilities. During

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1320-572: The US Navy's " Nuclear Navy " nuclear submarines. Also located at the Windsor site was the prototype marine nuclear propulsion training facility known as S1C , which was designed and constructed by C-E adjacent to its main campus. The S1C prototype was operated by C-E for more than ten years as an R&D and Naval training facility. After expiration of C-E's contract, the S1C contract was subsequently awarded to Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL), who operated

1380-570: The Windsor, Connecticut site which allowed the Power Systems Group to test changes to boiler air-flow and other critical boiler design factors. C-E's nuclear power activity began in 1955 under Arthur Santry Jr. The history of the C-E Windsor, Connecticut campus dates to the early development of the nuclear submarine . From the mid-1950s through the early 1960s, Combustion Engineering, under federal government contract, produced nuclear fuel for

1440-432: The air intake and firing chute, injuring the firemen who load the coal into the fire chamber. Extremely large boilers providing hundreds of horsepower to operate factories can potentially demolish entire buildings. A boiler that has a loss of feed water and is permitted to boil dry can be extremely dangerous. If feed water is then sent into the empty boiler, the small cascade of incoming water instantly boils on contact with

1500-494: The board. George Kimmel was named president and Chief Operating Officer in 1988 and remained in that position until the sale of the company to ABB in 1990. In 1990 C-E became a wholly owned subsidiary of ABB (Asea Brown Boveri), a Swiss-Swedish multinational conglomerate based in Zürich and one of the largest electrical engineering companies in the world. C-E's financial debt and lingering asbestos liability brought ABB to

1560-446: The brink of bankruptcy in the early 2000s. ABB was able to resolve asbestos claims filed against Combustion Engineering and Lummus Global in 2006 with a billion-plus dollar settlement agreement. ABB and Alstom merged their power groups in 1999 creating a 50/50 joint venture , ABB-Alstom Power. In 2000, Alstom bought out ABB. In 2001, the nuclear steam supply system vendor portion of the company, operating as Combustion Engineering,

1620-478: The company and its products base expanded. The Power Systems Division included the original major manufacturing facilities at Chattanooga, St. Louis, Monongahela, Birmingham; and in Canada, Brantford, Cornwall, and Upper Canada Manufacturing. A number of companies were acquired or developed and added to the division including, American Pole Structures, C-E Controls, the P.F. Avery Co., C-E Impel, C-E Maguire (Charles A. Maguire & Associates) and C-E Metals (primarily

1680-537: The corporation was called Combustion Engineering-Superheater Inc. In September 1950 the firm announced plans to build a large high-pressure generating unit for Virginia Electric & Power Company in Chester, Virginia . In 1953, the name Superheater was eliminated and the company took the more familiar name - Combustion Engineering, Inc. At this time, C-E primarily designed and built boiler assemblies for conventional power plants ; those powered by coal and oil . In

1740-476: The corresponding feedwater pressure must be even higher, demanding a more robust pump design. Another consideration is safety. High pressure, superheated steam can be extremely dangerous if it unintentionally escapes. To give the reader some perspective, the steam plants used in many U.S. Navy destroyers built during World War II operated at 600  psi (4,100  kPa ; 41  bar ) pressure and 850 degrees Fahrenheit (454 degrees Celsius) superheat. In

1800-422: The event of a major rupture of the system, an ever-present hazard in a warship during combat , the enormous energy release of escaping superheated steam, expanding to more than 1600 times its confined volume, would be equivalent to a cataclysmic explosion, whose effects would be exacerbated by the steam release occurring in a confined space, such as a ship's engine room . Also, small leaks that are not visible at

1860-401: The exhaust of the combustion chamber. Since the heated flue gas is less dense than the ambient air surrounding the boiler, the flue gas rises in the chimney, pulling denser, fresh air into the combustion chamber. Most modern boilers depend on mechanical draught rather than natural draught. This is because natural draught is subject to outside air conditions and temperature of flue gases leaving

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1920-583: The following configurations: To define and secure boilers safely, some professional specialized organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) develop standards and regulation codes. For instance, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code is a standard providing a wide range of rules and directives to ensure compliance of the boilers and other pressure vessels with safety, security and design standards. Historically, boilers were

1980-450: The furnace in order to increase the overall efficiency of the boiler. Dampers are used to control the quantity of air admitted to the furnace. Forced draught furnaces usually have a positive pressure. Balanced draught is obtained through use of both induced and forced draught. This is more common with larger boilers where the flue gases have to travel a long distance through many boiler passes. The induced draught fan works in conjunction with

2040-435: The furnace, as well as the chimney height. All these factors make proper draught hard to attain and therefore make mechanical draught equipment much more reliable and economical. Types of draught can also be divided into induced draught , where exhaust gases are pulled out of the boiler; forced draught , where fresh air is pushed into the boiler; and balanced draught , where both effects are employed. Natural draught through

2100-411: The heat produced by nuclear fission. Where a large volume of hot gas is available from some process, a heat recovery steam generator or recovery boiler can use the heat to produce steam, with little or no extra fuel consumed; such a configuration is common in a combined cycle power plant where a gas turbine and a steam boiler are used. In all cases the combustion product waste gases are separate from

2160-500: The heat rejected from other processes such as gas turbine . There are two methods to measure the boiler efficiency in the ASME performance test code (PTC) for boilers ASME PTC 4 and for HRSG ASME PTC 4.4 and EN 12952-15 for water tube boilers: Direct method of boiler efficiency test is more usable or more common. where To measure the boiler efficiency in indirect method, parameter like these are needed: Boilers can be classified into

2220-503: The late 1960s the company supplied nuclear reactor systems and fabricated uranium fuel for electric utility companies. A joint venture was announced in April 1968, involving the Combustion Engineering Company, Houston Natural Gas , and Ranchers Exploration & Development Corporation. The three businesses combined to search for uranium on 250,000 acres (1,000 km ) in New Mexico . C-E

2280-460: The longevity of older wrought-iron boilers far superior to that of welded steel boilers. Cast iron may be used for the heating vessel of domestic water heaters. Although such heaters are usually termed "boilers" in some countries, their purpose is usually to produce hot water, not steam, and so they run at low pressure and try to avoid boiling. The brittleness of cast iron makes it impractical for high-pressure steam boilers. The source of heat for

2340-575: The mid-1950s, C-E also expanded its operations into oil and gas exploration, production, refining, and petrochemicals with the acquisition of the Lummus Company located in Bloomfield, New Jersey . Lummus also supplied small industrial steam supply systems for oil field enhanced recovery. C-E was one of the major suppliers of boilers for US Navy steam-powered warships, including Liberty ships during World War II. Amongst many other warships, all of

2400-415: The overall energy efficiency of the steam plant (the combination of boiler, superheater, piping and machinery) generally will be improved enough to more than offset the increased fuel consumption. Superheater operation is similar to that of the coils on an air conditioning unit, although for a different purpose. The steam piping is directed through the flue gas path in the boiler furnace, an area in which

2460-491: The point of leakage could be lethal if an individual were to step into the escaping steam's path. Hence designers endeavor to give the steam-handling components of the system as much strength as possible to maintain integrity. Special methods of coupling steam pipes together are used to prevent leaks, with very high pressure systems employing welded joints to avoided leakage problems with threaded or gasketed connections. Supercritical steam generators are frequently used for

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2520-402: The production of electric power . They operate at supercritical pressure. In contrast to a "subcritical boiler", a supercritical steam generator operates at such a high pressure (over 3,200 psi or 22 MPa) that the physical turbulence that characterizes boiling ceases to occur; the fluid is neither liquid nor gas but a super-critical fluid. There is no generation of steam bubbles within

2580-452: The province of Ontario. The Oil & Gas Group had operations in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. C-E maintained offices as well as a number of manufacturing sites on a worldwide basis, including the UK, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Belgium, Mexico and France. C-E's technology on a wide range of products was licensed worldwide. For much of the existence of the company,

2640-658: The reactor at Waterford was 1 in 50,000, according to an NRC study published in August 2010. Combustion Engineering Combustion Engineering ( C-E ) was a multi-national American-based engineering firm that developed nuclear steam supply power systems in the United States . Originally headquartered in New York City, C-E moved its corporate offices to Stamford, Connecticut , in 1973. C-E owned over three dozen other companies including Lummus Company, National Tank Company and

2700-413: The steam to carry more energy. Although superheating adds more energy to the steam in the form of heat there is no effect on pressure, which is determined by the rate at which steam is drawn from the boiler and the pressure settings of the safety valves . The fuel consumption required to generate superheated steam is greater than that required to generate an equivalent volume of saturated steam. However,

2760-407: The steam within. The design of any superheated steam plant presents several engineering challenges due to the high working temperatures and pressures. One consideration is the introduction of feedwater to the boiler. The pump used to charge the boiler must be able to overcome the boiler's operating pressure, else water will not flow. As a superheated boiler is usually operated at high pressure,

2820-553: The superheated metal shell and leads to a violent explosion that cannot be controlled even by safety steam valves. Draining of the boiler can also happen if a leak occurs in the steam supply lines that is larger than the make-up water supply could replace. The Hartford Loop was invented in 1919 by the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company as a method to help prevent this condition from occurring, and thereby reduce their insurance claims. When water

2880-409: The temperature is typically between 1,300 and 1,600 degrees Celsius (2,372 and 2,912 degrees Fahrenheit). Some superheaters are radiant type, which as the name suggests, they absorb heat by radiation. Others are convection type, absorbing heat from a fluid. Some are a combination of the two types. Through either method, the extreme heat in the flue gas path will also heat the superheater steam piping and

2940-498: The unit until its decommissioning and dismantlement in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In the 1960s, C-E began selling nuclear power steam supply systems. The first commercial nuclear steam supply system was sold to Consumers Power Company of Michigan for the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station , which closed in 2022. C-E competed aggressively with General Electric and Westinghouse in this domain. In

3000-485: The use of a chimney is a type of induced draught; mechanical draught can be induced, forced or balanced. There are two types of mechanical induced draught. The first is through use of a steam jet. The steam jet oriented in the direction of flue gas flow induces flue gases into the stack and allows for a greater flue gas velocity increasing the overall draught in the furnace. This method was common on steam driven locomotives which could not have tall chimneys. The second method

3060-414: The water and then further heat the steam in a superheater , causing the discharged steam temperature to be substantially above the boiling temperature at the boiler's operating pressure. As the resulting " dry steam " is much hotter than needed to stay in the vaporous state it will not contain any significant unevaporated water. Also, higher steam pressure will be possible than with saturated steam, enabling

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3120-406: The water, because the pressure is above the critical pressure point at which steam bubbles can form. As the fluid expands through the turbine stages, its thermodynamic state drops below the critical point as it does work turning the turbine which turns the electrical generator from which power is ultimately extracted. The fluid at that point may be a mix of steam and liquid droplets as it passes into

3180-401: The working fluid of the steam cycle, making these systems examples of external combustion engines . The pressure vessel of a boiler is usually made of steel (or alloy steel ), or historically of wrought iron . Stainless steel , especially of the austenitic types, is not used in wetted parts of boilers due to corrosion and stress corrosion cracking . However, ferritic stainless steel

3240-413: Was 75,538, an increase of 7.4 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,969,431, a decrease of 0.8 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include New Orleans (33 miles to city center). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to

3300-557: Was bought by Westinghouse Electric Co., a then subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels. On November 2, 2015 GE Power announced it had completed the acquisition of Alstom's power and grid businesses. Boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water ) is heated . The fluid does not necessarily boil . The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating , central heating , boiler-based power generation , cooking , and sanitation . In

3360-628: Was generally credited with a superior design, evidenced by the fact that the megawatt yield of its nuclear reactors was typically about 10% higher than that of comparable Westinghouse plants. The basis for this increase in efficiency was a computer-based system called the Core Operating Limit Supervisory System (COLSS) for design, and the Core Protection Calculator (CPC) for real-time control room operation, which leveraged almost 300 in-core neutron detectors and

3420-649: Was often obtained from specialist ironworks , such as those in the Cleator Moor (UK) area, noted for the high quality of their rolled plate , which was especially suitable for use in critical applications such as high-pressure boilers. In the 20th century , design practice moved towards the use of steel, with welded construction, which is stronger and cheaper, and can be fabricated more quickly and with less labour. Wrought iron boilers corrode far more slowly than their modern-day steel counterparts, and are less susceptible to localized pitting and stress-corrosion. That makes

3480-506: Was often used for fireboxes (particularly for steam locomotives ), because of its better formability and higher thermal conductivity; however, in more recent times, the high price of copper often makes this an uneconomic choice and cheaper substitutes (such as steel) are used instead. For much of the Victorian "age of steam", the only material used for boilermaking was the highest grade of wrought iron , with assembly by riveting . This iron

3540-642: Was originally headquartered on 11 Broadway and at 43 - 5 - 7 Broad Street (Manhattan) , both in Lower Manhattan . The city block was leased from the Alliance Realty Company in April 1920. In May of the same year the firm began construction of an eight-story office building on the same site. During the 1920s, C-E's signature boiler equipment was the English designed Type-E stoker . C-E also offered several other types of underfeed stokers in addition to

3600-432: Was restarted on May 12. The plant shut down on October 17, 2012, for steam-generator replacement. The plant returned to full power in the middle of January 2013. The plant shut down on August 28, 2021 in preparation for Hurricane Ida . On August 29, 2021 the plant declared an “unusual event″ — its lowest level of emergency — after the facility lost offsite electrical power. Waterford is operated by Entergy Nuclear and

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