Upgrades

Hardware with advanced health monitoring analytics

Over the past 20 years, GE Vernova has been monitoring the health of its fleets, working with our users to get valuable insight and feedback, and making continuous improvements to our products. This effort has led to hardware and monitoring/analytics innovations that have produced a set of Next Gen ST Valve offerings.

Protect your steam turbine

Increase maintenance intervals, monitor asset health, and improve unit reliability and availability with GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valves. They provide real-time turbine valve condition monitoring and diagnostic and prognostic analytics needed to reliably keep your plant running smoothly.

Address common steam turbine valve-related maintenance issues—Next Gen ST Valves deliver a host of valuable benefits that aim to provide ROI in as few as two to three years. 

Videos

Want to get a closer look at our Next Gen ST valves? Watch now.

Introduction to GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST valves

Benefits of our Next Gen ST valves

What are GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valves?

We’ve blended a robust set of hardware upgrades with digital monitoring and analytics systems to help you move from reactive to predictive health monitoring technology for your plant. Our offerings consist of:

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Upgraded valve materials

With the GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valve offering, we’ve advanced our materials with improved oxidation resistance that can reduce oxidation rates by up to 3 – 4 times, as well as potentially reduce the risk of mechanical binding or valve sticking.

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Enhanced geometries

We’ve improved valve geometries to increase efficiency and to more effectively direct the steam flow and solid particulates (if any) away from the stop valve stem (a safety-critical component). This enhances the valve-seating angle, directing any foreign particles in the steam flow away from the stem.

Additionally, the pressure seal head has been produced with erosion-resistant materials to reduce particle velocities, protecting and shielding the stop valve stem from solid particle erosion (SPE). The pressure seal head also incorporates a patent-pending early warning system that can aid in the detection of any potential erosion that may occur—well before it becomes a forced outage risk.

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Sensors and instrumentation

Using existing and supplemental sensors coupled with proprietary digital and software algorithms, we can help you measure real-time critical operating parameters that can impact your valve’s safety, reliability, and performance. 

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Advanced monitoring

The user interface (UI) for GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valve analytics is a web-enabled portal that can be accessed from anywhere within your power plant’s internal network. From this UI, real-time (diagnostic) and predictive (prognostic) analytics display both the current and trended health of the critical components of the valve. This information is invaluable for quickly diagnosing valve-related issues found during operation, and is vital for making informed decisions on maintenance timing and planning. Combining this monitoring with GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valve hardware can help customers move toward extended high-pressure and reheat-valve inspection and maintenance intervals.

Help stop problems before they start

GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valves can help mitigate the following issues that can lead to prolonged maintenance outages as well as costly forced outages:

  • Casing cracks, which can occur at different valve body locations and cause emergent/unexpected valve repair work and forced outages
  • Solid particle erosion (SPE) that results from solid particles entrained in the steam flow, which impinge on the main stop valve stem, and can result in stem failure
  • Sticking, which happens as a result of oxidation and occurs when the stop valve is stuck in the open position, and can require an immediate forced outage

With GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valves, we can more confidently anticipate when potential events like these would occur by field deployment of analytics.

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INFOGRAPHIC

See how GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valves could have saved a customer $2.2 million

What’s the true cost of not implementing advanced monitoring? Our infographic breaks down the cost of unplanned outages—and how our technology could help.

Turbine upgrades

GE Vernova’s Next Gen ST Valve packages

Internals upgrade

SCOPE: replacement of valve internal components

Recommended for:

  • 7.5” and 9.25” with modern guided outlet valves with no major casing cracks

Software monitoring and diagnostics

Digital Lite—sensors and analytics with partial valve health monitoring

Full replacement

SCOPE: new valves and actuators

Recommended for:

  • Valves with >12 years in operation or with known SPE and/or casing crack issues
  • 9.25” lower chamber MSCVs
  • Replacement of CRV Links and lever hydraulics

Software monitoring and diagnostics

Digital Lite—full valve health-monitoring package offering enhanced operational tracking, trending, and life monitoring for improved asset management.

Additional offerings

Valve upgrade for extended inspection intervals of MXL2/APP

Outage alignment

MSCVs and CRVs are key components for the safe and reliable operation of a steam turbine. The extended inspection intervals upgrade package will help create a schedule to ensure that ST valve inspections are executed in the time frame of GT a C-inspection (major inspection). The result is a shorter plant outage and reduced risk of valve failure. As part of the upgrade, the ST valve inspection interval is increased from 25 kEOH to 50 kEOH, while the lifetime consumption per start is reduced from 50 EOH to 25 EOH, allowing for additional plant flexibility.

Add digital for better integration

A complementary digital solution called Valve and Actuator Monitoring System (VAMS) allows the integration of hardware upgrades (Control, Servo, Stop Valve) with Digital Analytics, which helps align the ST and GT outage duration. VAMS includes three upgrade solutions for MSCVs and CRVs that cover replacement of internals and part improvements—including software monitoring and diagnostics—to help improve the reliability and availability of your valves, reduce testing requirements, and extend maintenance intervals.

Contact us

Want to learn more about our Next Gen ST Valves?