Cook U1 Turbine Problems

[HydroDave63]

Time for a 'Back online at Mode 1' pool?

[remowil55]

Please note, the AEP (DC Cook) legal team has requested that we do not display any pictures which relate to the recent turbine issue.

Wonder what there trying to hide.Maybe that it's a hell of a lot worse than they lead the public to believe, and there trying to do damage control.

[PWHoppe]

Wonder what there trying to hide.Maybe that it's a hell of a lot worse than they lead the public to believe, and there trying to do damage control.

Nobody is trying to hide anything. There are insurance issues among others. The turbine workings are proprietary and  they want to avoid crossing those lines

[Jr8black3]

I've worked for both Hoppe and Gerry,, they are both great,, But I know Hoppe has his feet on the grounds and knows what is going on.. I'm sure in the end Pat will know more then, Gerry.. Sorry Gerry thats honesty..D.C. Cook will make it through it..

[Already Gone]

It is not that the turbine design is proprietary.  It is a matter of photos being published that are taken out of context or that are not what they are purported to be.
Anybody can post a picture of a damaged turbine and say it was DC Cook's.  But, if the plant prohibits taking such photos, they have a better defense against misinformation being passed out to the public.

If the workings of this machine were actually proprietary, then Siemens would never have been able to put their rotors into a GE turbine in the first place.  For one thing, they spin in opposite directions.  So, in order to manufacture a set of rotors to fit into a GE turbine, they would have to have knowledge of the GE turbine design.

In any case, the whole thing is being closely watched and handled by a lot of lawyers, who are charged with protecting the interests of the various parties involved.  It is pretty reasonable and prudent for the owner of this turbine to take control of how this condition is presented to the public.  As you can see from just reading this thread, speculation can grow rampant.  The people who are on site right now to disassemble this machine are going to have a lot of measuring and analyzing to do before they know what happened.  But any bozo who looks at a grainy picture on the internet can form his own opinion.

Anyway, we can talk about it here, but please help out Mike by honoring the request.  No photos of the turbine with the casings removed.  And try to remember that this discussion is all speculation.

[highiron17]

Any Idea on when they will start putting on the crafts?

Build Union,Buy Union
highiron17

[Already Gone]

Last week.  Call your BA.

[RRhoads]

well..this was released on the AEP website so it is safe!
here
looks like Sept at the earliest or in 2010!

[Laundry Man]

Heck we did it in less than a year at Fermi II back when we had the big one.  Granted it was at reduced output but we were a BWR and flooded the the Turbine Building and Radwaste basements with millions of gallons of contaminated oily water.  Call in Shakey Joe of MPC they would get the job done.  Good luck to them at Cook.
LM

[michael49022]

BRIDGMAN, Mich. - One of the two units at Cook Nuclear Power Plant will remain out of service until September 2009 at the earliest, American Electric Power has announced.

Repairing and replacing the unit's damaged turbine rotors is estimated to cost up to $332 million, the company said.

Cook's Unit 1 has been out of service since Sept. 20 after severe vibrations, caused when broken low-pressure turbine blades damaged the main turbine and generator.

The Cook Nuclear Plant on U.S. 12 is about 25 miles north of Michigan City.

A successful repair could allow the unit to operate at reduced power by next September, according to a company statement, but the rotors will ultimately be replaced to ensure the long-term viability of the unit.

If the repair is not successful, Unit 1 will not restart until new rotors are available. In that case, it would not be up and running until 2010.

Three new low-pressure turbines made by Siemens were installed in Unit 1 in 2006. Blades broke on two of the three turbines. The high-pressure turbine and main generator are original plant equipment made by General Electric.

AEP said it expects that all costs incurred to return Unit 1 to service will be recovered through insurance, vendor warranty or the regulatory process.

This repair option includes straightening the rotor shafts and modifying each rotor by removing one or two of the largest rows of blades until new rotors can be made.

Returning to service without one or two rows of blades would result in a power reduction of 100 to 250 megawatts from Unit 1's rated net capacity of 1,030 megawatts. A megawatt is roughly equal to the energy needed to power 1,000 homes.

Work to straighten the first rotor shaft has started. Work on the third rotor will finish in mid-January.

Cook Communications Manager Bill Schalk said the issues with Unit 1 will not affect AEP employment at the plant. More than 400 contractors are working on additional inspections and repairs at the plant, he said. AEP expects sufficient reserve generating capacity to make up for the loss of capacity at Unit 1.

Schalk said the Cook plant produces roughly 6 percent of AEP's total power generation.

The refueling outage for Unit 2, which continues to operate at full power with a rated net capacity of 1,070 megawatts, will take place as scheduled in the spring of 2009.

The refueling outage scheduled in the fall of 2009 for Unit 1 will be moved to 2010, with the date dependent on when it returns to service.

[Already Gone]

That's what happens when you put bargain parts into a finely-tuned machine.

[HydroDave63]

That's what happens when you put bargain parts into a finely-tuned machine.

Exactly! Seems like every Siemens turbine is a balancing act....literally!

[Yurij]

Any word on new work packages for (Unit#1) fitters/welders?Any new travelers? Thanx!

[tuj]

Any word on what caused the problem and how the turbine repairs are going?  I haven't heard much follow-up on this accident.

[tugger]

I am  a laborer currently working at DC Cook.  My entire workday is spent up on the turbine deck.  From what I have heard, the outage got extended another 30-days due to something in the generator has to be removed and sent out for additional work.  It will take 30 days to complete that which explains why the outage has been extended.  Tuesday night, some of the scaffolding was removed to take out the part.  1 of the turbines is currently on the deck being serviced by the millwrights.  I think they are now looking toward the end of november before they can sync-to-grid.  Strangely enough, I was also on the turbine deck in 2006 when they put those turbines in. Six weeks at 91 hours a week, 2006 was profitable!

[Lorrie Henson]

Do you know when they are planning to begin the outage?

[Already Gone]

They are in week 54 of the outage.

[tugger]

I could be mistaken but I do believe the refuling outage for unit 1 starts in March. 

[Nuke Dave]

They are in week 54 of the outage.

Actually 9/20/09 is the One Year anniversary.

[Already Gone]

I could be mistaken but I do believe the refuling outage for unit 1 starts in March. 

It was this past March.  Look for the next U1 outage in the fall of '10.

[Lorrie Henson]

Troy, others on here have stated there will be a U1 outage March 2010 as well.  Mike was even surprised by this... but I've not seen anything official yet.  Maybe Pat could come in and clarify??

[Paul]

As long as we have start up on U1 this fall, the outage will be in March, and U2 in the fall.

[Already Gone]

Thanks Paul,

I got the units confused.  Unit 2 was refueled this spring.  So it will be down again in the fall of 2010, correct?

And Unit 1 will start up sometime this fall (perhaps) and have another outage in March?  I'm assuming (since Unit 1 has only burned about a third of it's current fuel cycle) that there is another reason for putting it down again so soon (possibly to avoid having two outages in the fall?).  Would it be too big a leap to conclude that they will be replacing the MSR's in Unit 1 during that outage?

Realizing that nothing can be predicted with total certainty, it would be good to know what the plans are for next year.  Please keep the info coming.

[Lorrie Henson]

As long as we have start up on U1 this fall, the outage will be in March, and U2 in the fall.

Paul, is Tugger correct that the U1 March 2010 outage has been extended 30 days?  Meaning it will be a 60 day outage?  Thanks so much for all the information.  Trying to figure out what we'll be doing this spring.

Lorrie

[Paul]

Last I heard U1 was set for 40 days.
That is all based on the unit starting up in October [since they have reprimanded people for saying otherwise, I agree ]
If anything new comes around I will be sure to post it.