POWER-GEN:
POWER PROFESSIONALS TO
DISCUSS WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES
Over 18,000 power professionals will gather in Las Vegas
Dec. 8 to 10 for the 2009 Power-Gen International Show.
The show provides educational opportunities in 11 tracks
of sessions that cover areas such as industry trends, competitive power generation, environmental issues, fossil technologies, gas turbine technologies, renewable energy, on-site
power and plant performance. It also offers three “
mega-ses-sions” that offer panel discussions of issues such as preparing
for the upcoming CO2 legislation, large frame gas turbines
and renewable power survival.
Each morning, the show also offers networking breakfasts
with panel speakers that specialize in areas such as environmental issues, distributed generation, plant operations and
maintenance and the different types of energy sectors.
Keynoting this year’s conference are three speakers who
will address dynamic changes and responses in the power
industry. They include Michael Yackira, president & CEO of
NV Energy, Sierra Pacific Resources; Pierre L. Gauthier,
president & CEO of ALSTOM Canada Inc. and ALSTOM US
Inc.; and Keith Rattie, chairman, president & CEO of Questar
Corporation.
In addition, over 1,000 companies will offer their goods
and services for engineering and design, equipment and tools,
consulting, control, construction, repair services, software,
storage and more in areas of specialty such as renewables,
cooling, water/wastewater, oil and gas, and more. Held in
conjunction with the Power-Gen exhibition is Nuclear Power
International, which features about 60 companies that spe-
cialize in selling to the nuclear industry.
The VMA family—Valve Magazine, the Valve Manufacturers Association and the Valve Repair Council—will be represented at the event, and looks forward to speaking with magazine readers involved in the power industry. Stop by the booth
and find out how you can win a copy of the Back to Basics
compilation!
For more information, go to www.power-gen.com.
Full Inspection and Overhaul
A process involving a pretest, full disassembly, internal inspection and functional test is the only true way to ensure
that your PSV is in the best possible
condition. The pretest is performed
before the PSV is disassembled. The
results from the pretest are used to help
gauge whether a valve would have
relieved in service and at what pressure,
whether it would have reseated and
whether it had seat leakage. By performing a pretest and then an entire
overhaul and inspection, each part of
the PSV is cleaned, inspected,
reused/repaired/replaced, assembled,
tested and returned to service.
A certified “VR” overhaul performed
by a certified repair company authorized
by the National Board of Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Inspectors1 is the common industry standard followed and
accepted by the majority of regulatory
agencies and end users throughout the
United States. In some cases, end users
will accept a non-VR repair as long as it
meets certain criteria spelled out within
their own PSM program. While the
“VR” is the preferred method, plant specific repair criteria may be acceptable
with some end-users. A listing of all
authorized “VR” stamp holders can be
found in the National Board’s NB-182.
PROs: As stated above, a full inspection and overhaul is the only true method
of determining the condition of a valve.
When a valve is disassembled and
inspected, it gives you a full view of the
internal condition of the valve, a full
visual and dimensional inspection of all
internal parts, verification of the spring
number and range, any potential visual
corrosion or erosion, and a full functional
test demonstrating consistent, repeatable
1 National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Inspectors; “NBIC” www.nationalboard.org
2 National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Inspectors; “NB- 18” www.nationalboard.org
Engineering
St andards
MSS valve and fitting standards
are in use around the world in
virtually every industry from
waste water to oil refining. 86
member companies work in 24
technical committees to develop
and maintain standards that
shape the way flow is controlled.
…Since 1924
Creating standards for:
Valves Pipe Hangers
Fittings Actuators
Flanges Valve Modifications
Seals
The Manufacturers Standardization Society
of the Valve & Fitting Industry
For further information on
MSS membership or MSS
standards, contact Bob O’Neill,
MSS executive director at
703/281-6613, or on the web
at www.mss-hq.com. MSS is
an ANSI accredited standards
developer.
CIRCLE READER RESPONSE #164
