Learning About Speedtronic MARK V Control System

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Thread Starter

eagle1

Any useful material would be appreciated. I am a rookie and i need to some coaching. My email address is efemena_efekemo(at)yahoo.com. Thank you very much.
 
eagle1,

I hope you will take advantage of the wealth of posts here on control.com related to the GE Speedtronic Mark V turbine control system. You can use the 'Search' function at the far right of the Menu bar of every control.com web page. Have a look at the 'Search' Help (the question mark ? to the right of the Search entry box) because the format of the queries is not like most World Wide Web search engines--but it's still powerful and useful.

I don't have any electronic copies of Mark V training manuals (actually, I don't even have any paper copies any more), but it's very possible some other reader may have and can send them to you (though I would think the electronic file size would be VERY large).

If you can tell us about the situation you find yourself in (type of turbine (gas or steam); type of driven equipment (generator or compressor or pump); type of Mark V (TMR or SIMPLEX); type of operator interface (<I> or GE Mark V HMI) we can probably be of more help.

One thing I always like to be very clear about is that the operator interface(s) is(are) NOT the Mark V. The Mark V is inside the 36"x20"x90" or 54"x20"x90" panel; the operator interface is just a means for the operator to send commands to the Mark V, to monitor the operation of the turbine and auxiliaries and driven device, and to manage alarms (LOTS of alarms!) from the Mark V. The operator interface includes applications/progrmas which can be used for configuring the Mark V, as well as for troubleshooting turbine and auxiliary and driven device operation. But, with but very few exceptions (and there are always exceptions, unfortunately) the operator interface does NO control or protection functions. The operator interface can't trip the turbine or driven device; it doesn't monitor vibration or lube oil pressure, though it can be used to see what the values of vibration or lube oil pressure the Mark V is seeing are--but it's the Mark V that does all the control and protection. So, shutting off or disconnecting the operator interface, either intentionally or unintentionally, will NOT trip the turbine.

And, that's another thing that requires some explanation. There is a HUGE difference between "trip" and "shutdown." A trip is an emergency shutdown--in which the fuel stop valve (or the main steam stop valve) is very quickly shut to stop the turbine from producing torque. It's usually done to protect the turbine from any number of potentially damaging conditions (exhaust overtemperature; loss of flame; high vibration; low-low lube oil pressure; high-high lube oil temperature; etc.

A shutdown is an orderly reduction in load of the unit, and an orderly coast down to zero speed or cooldown (turning gear; ratchet; slowroll).

So, don't say/write trip when you mean to or should have said/written shutdown. There is a VERY large difference, and trying to help troubleshoot a shutdown that was incorrectly characterized as a trip can be very frustrating--for everyone involved.

Welcome to the community here at control.com. Use the 'Search' function to find lots of good information. When posting for help, at least in the beginning, it's important to provide as much information as you can about the unit, the control system, the fuel(s) being burned (if it's a gas turbine), and the type combustion system (if it's a gas turbine). Not every Mark V is the same--and not every GE-design Frame 5 heavy duty gas turbine is like every other GE-design Frame 5 heavy duty gas turbine--there can be LOTS of very subtle but critical differences. And we're not there alongside you, so we don't know much about your unit and your site unless you tell us. We can guess, but that's not always the best thing. If you're troubleshooting a problem, be sure to provide as much information as possible--including what the results of any actions you've taken to resolve the problem were. If we suggest actions only to be told you've already tried that--but you haven't told us you tried that, and you haven't told us what the results of that attempt were--it can be very frustrating for everyone involved.

Finally, here at control.com, it's customary for people requesting information or help to provide feedback if they find the information provided useful--or not, or if the information was useful in resolving the problem--or not. It really makes reading the threads useful for MANY people--and LOTS of people read these threads, even if they don't post responses or questions. And, because the threads are saved and can be searched the feedback can be very useful for others researching their question or issue. If you can write a question, you can write a sentence or two letting others know if the information provided was useful or not.

Hope this helps!
 
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