Another revolutionary product, the Clyde Bergemann Super Heater Fouling Monitor (SHFM) using SmartGauges™ offer a major step forward in information which the plant operator and engineers can use to monitor, and eliminate the excessive build-up of combustion deposits in the superheater, reheater or other pendant sections of the boiler.

Coal fired boilers tend to form the most tenacious deposits in the super and re-heater area, the hottest part of the convection pass. These deposits are difficult to remove if the cleaning action is delayed and the deposits are prone to develop into clinkers that threaten boiler integrity and reliability. Boiler operators currently do not have a reliable tool to monitor and pinpoint the build-up to take timely,corrective actions.

A network of specially designed strain gauges is mounted by Clyde Bergemann to the support structure of the pendants. The output from these gauges is processed by the SmartClean™ protocols, and provides the operator with clear recommendations on which retractable sootblower to run, and which to leave alone. The system “sees” exactly how much deposit is building up in each area, and can determine optimal sootblowing requirements for that specific moment in time. The system is able to localize deposits, and target the cleaning system towards these deposits. The plant operators will see the following immediate benefits:

• eliminates clinkers, providing the existing sootblowing system is effective
• reduces unnecessarysootblowing, and save as much as 40% of maintenance and steam or air consumption
• identifies critical sootblowers and unimportant ones for maintenance allocations

This technology can be even more beneficial by integrating with existing open architecture control system.  The fully integrated sootblowing system is able to identify where where the boiler is dirty and when to run the most effective sootblower to clean the dirty area. No operator involvement is necessary.