Preventive overhaul of 1575kW pump motor


Sloecentrale ABB Motor 00 295Every hour, 66 million litres of water are necessary to cool the Sloecentrale in Flushing. 4 pumps are used for this, driven by 1575 kW motors. After operating for 5 years, it was time for a check-up. Maintenance Partners conducted a preventive overhaul of one of the motors to ensure its operation. 

Sloecentrale

The Sloecentrale powerplant in Flushing is a joint venture between Delta (Energy Company) and EDF (French Electricity Company) and is active since the end of 2009. The electricity is generated by 2 combined cycle units of 435 MW each. Which means that this plant accounts for 4 % of the total Dutch energy production.

Cooling system

Because of its location close to the sea, the Sloecentrale use seas water from the Westerschelde river to cool down the Sloecentrale. 66000 m³ of water is pumped every hour out and into the sea. This is the equivalent of filling 26 Olympic size swimming pools per hour. The cooling system is very efficient due to the large capacity. The outgoing water is just up to 7 degrees warmer than the incoming water from sea. Each of the 4 cooling water pumps are driven by a 1575 KW ABB electric motor (593,4 t/m – 3300V) with a weight of 18 tons, a diameter of 3.1 meters and a height of 3.5 meters.

Preventive overhaul

The plant is now operating for 5.5 years and has contacted Maintenance Partners for a preventive overhaul of one of the 4 motors. The preventive overhaul consisted out of a standard revision where the motor was inspected, steamed and dried. The insulating lacquer was reapplied to better protect the motor against the conditions close to sea.

In addition to the standard revision, we replaced the 6 PT100 elements to ensure that the windings could be measured and monitored in a reliable manner. Finally a drain was created for the lubricant of the bearings. By default this was not present in the motor, allowing the possibility that excess lubricant could end up in the motor. Excess lubricant can represent a risk for electric motors due to dust and dirt that adhere to it. Long term accumulation of debris can eventually result in overheating of the  windings.

Transport

After the overhaul the motor was ready for transport. However it wasn’t possible to tilt the motor on the spot, so the motor had to be transported vertically. The height of the driver (3.5 meters) required a special deep loader trailer to prevent traffic lights, overpasses and tunnels to be an obstacle. After transport the maintenance team of the Sloecentrale was ready to reunite the motor and the pump.

Result for the customer

Meanwhile the motor is operating again and is pumping 16.5 million litres of water per hour into the cooling system of Sloecentrale. After the overhaul the motor is reliable again and can run for years to come.

Contact

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