Maintenance of the steam turbines at Hellisheiði power plant

In a geothermal power plant the working fluid used to produce electricity is often wet steam from geothermal wells, which is composed of corrosive chemicals. In this situation, more frequent maintenance of the equipment is required. By constructing an overview for the maintenance in geothermal power plants and how it can be done with minimum power outages and cost, the geothermal energy can be made more competitive in comparison with other energy resources. The focus of this thesis is to examine the maintenance needed for the steam turbines in the geothermal power plant at Hellisheiði. The local ability of the staff there to repair or construct turbine parts on-site is explored. It is also explored how the maintenance and condition monitoring is carried out today and what can be improved in order to reduce cost. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is used to analyze the data, which were collected but that can help organizing maintenance and condition monitoring of Hellisheiði power plant in the future. Furthermore, the thesis presents an overview of currently employed maintenance methods at Hellisheiði power plant, the ability of domestic workshops to maintain and repair the steam turbines there and the power plant’s need for repairs. The results show that the need for maintenance of the geothermal steam turbines at Hellisheiði power plant is high and that on-site maintenance and repairs can decrease operation cost. Keywords: Geothermal Power Plant, Steam Turbine Maintenance, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

GEORG