TRAINING MATERIALS

SimGenics has developed over 2000 Powerpoint slides within approximately 40 different, major, training subjects. These are comprehensive lessons with extensive information. These slide libraries are available to companies who have purchased plant specific and/or universal simulators from us.

Many of these slide presentations are now accompanied with comprehensive lesson plans that detail the training objectives and cover classroom and simulator usage. Essentially, with the purchase of a universal simulator, a client can have a full scale, extensive training program for power plant operators. We can accompany this training material with "train the trainer" type training that teaches your instructors how to effectively conduct extensive simulator training.

All of our simulators use "first-principle" modeling. Besides energy balance and hundreds of fully dynamic malfunctions, we have the following attributes that aid the instructor in effectively conveying the material to the operators:

• Direct emulation of the plant control system
  We do not use proprietary material from the control vendor, substantially reducing the cost of the simulator. Our models are very accurately developed in MS FORTRAN and MS Assembler. Our man machine interface is developed with MS Visual Basic. Therefore, man machine interface changes are easily accomplished. For an additional fee we can provide the source code and compilation software to the client.
• The client can add up to 16 work-stations with no software changes
  Our software is designed to operate on standard Pentium personal computers configured to accurately emulate the plant DCS system. If additional work stations are desired, they can be quickly added by installing a 100/1000 network card in a standard PC, and then copying the provided software onto the new machine. We operate in a MS Windows environment.
• Our instructor's station is a state of the art, intuitive, interactive system that uses the plant P & ID's as reference.
  Any major valve that must be field manipulated in the actual plant is manipulated via the instructor station on the P & IDs. We allow all major valves, pumps, and equipment to be failed, or manipulated from the P & IDs by simply "clicking" on the device or valve with a mouse. This opens a window that allows the instructor to choose the desired action (open, close, on, off, fail as is, etc.)
• We provide the universal version of our simulators
  With fourteen (14) flat panel LCD displays for operator workstations, this configuration uses five (5) networked CPU's linked together using an appropriate, fast (1000 mb/sec) Ethernet networking system. The hardware always includes delivery and setup at the plant site.
• We calculate the actual volume of the turbine extraction lines
  We provide an accurate fill rate so that water induction incidents will be very realistic, and based on relevant conditions that would occur with water induction. This will include turbine vibration, temperature differentials, and other water induction indicators.
• The vibration signature on the turbines will be accurate to the actual turbine
  Turbine metal and steam temperature differentials, and (negative and positive) rates of change that affect vibration signatures on the actual turbine will also dynamically affect vibration in a like manner in the simulator model.
• Oil temperature variations that cause vibration signature changes on the actual turbine will be modeled on the simulated turbine
  This includes oil whip effects if the oil temperature, bearing loading, and turbine speed enter a range conducive to this phenomenon.
• Full to partial arc valve transfers on the turbine will yield realistic temperature changes on the affected turbine components
• Valve and damper leakage
  No plant has 0% leakage on many valves, and dampers. We will account for valve and damper leakage on those systems that tend to suffer from this. There is no use simulating a condition that the operators never get to experience. If they have to deal with leakage in a particular valve on a regular basis, they should have to deal with it on the simulator.
• Flame instability when air flow is incorrect, or when secondary air is cold (such as cold start-up situations)
  We use an internal reliability index for our flame signals. This index is influenced by air temperature, air flow, how many other ignitors/burners are operating, and other relevant factors that the actual plant reacts to. Use of this method allows the operator to deal with practical, realistic ignitor/burner problems without instructor intervention. As conditions improve, the ignitor/burner reliability also improves.
• Positive pressure conditions
  If thermoprobes are part of the boiler (balanced draft units), positive furnace pressure will cause the probes to heat as a direct result of the casing leakage attributed to the positive pressure conditions.

Training Details

SimGenics instructors are responsible for training hundreds of power plant operations and maintenance personnel in the last 20 years. We have put together a world class training organization that effectively uses classroom and universal and plant specific simulation to extensively teach on the following subjects:

• Power plant fundamentals.
• Power plant trip, safe shutdown, and recovery.
• Power plant loss of station service (black-plant) fundamentals (this includes engineering studies and procedures).
• Power plant control room operational fundamentals.
• Every major type of suspension-fired and fluidized bed boilers.
• Every major type of turbine.
• Every major type of generator and excitation system.
• Power plant efficiency.
• Power plant electrical systems, including relaying and control.
• Power plant instrumentation and control systems.
• Combustion and combustion chemistry for low NOx burners.
• Combustion and fuel firing systems and components.
• Combined Cycle Plant versions of the above training are also available.

We feel that the learning occurs in the classroom. We then augment what was learned in the classroom on the simulator. We have thousands of actual pre-tests and post-tests from students to support our claim that our training process works. We also have extensive accolades (references available upon request) from clients to support our claims. We believe that we have the most effective simulator training available in the world today.