FSA’s Courses at POWER-GEN in December Provide CEUs

ORLANDO (Oct. 31, 2016)—The Fluid Sealing Association (FSA) at the POWER-GEN International conference in December is hosting four courses that provide participants with continuing education units (CEU). This year’s POWER-GEN gathering is Dec. 13-15 in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center. The cost to attend each course is $215, but a package to take all four courses costs $525. For more information about the conference and registering for the FSA courses, which are happening the day before the conference kicks off, visit power-gen.com. Here are some details about this year’s FSA courses:

Valve Installation Best Practices for Steam Service

Date: Dec. 12, 8-10 a.m. CEU: .5 Instructor: Ron Frisard, Vice Chair of the Packing Division of the FSA Summary: This training will focus on identifying best practices in regards to valve packing installation as outlined by the Fluid Sealing Association. It is imperative that a plant have a serious, focused, approach to this important subject for many reasons including downtime, safety and costs. One way to improve this is by creating a continuous improvement process regarding valve packing that is fact-based and focused on Identifying and classifying root causes of packing performance.

Flange Sealing Installation Best Practices

Date: Dec. 12, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. CEU: .5 Instructor: Ron Frisard, Vice Chair of the Packing Division of the FSA Summary: Flange leakage in steam service can result in loss production and money. If a plant is going to reduce emissions at a plant, one important step that is often overlooked is the procedures of flange sealing. This training will focus on the Fluid Sealing Association’s best practices for successful flange sealing including gasket seating stresses, torque calculations and gasket selection.

Valve - Pressure Bonnet Seal Measurement & Installation Best Practices for Steam Service

Date: Dec. 12, 1-3 p.m. CEU: .5 Instructors: Thom Jessup, Vice Chair of FSA Gasket Division of the FSA, & Brian Biller, Member of FSA Packing & Gasket Technical Committees Summary: This training will focus on identifying best practices in regards to specifying and installing valve pressure bonnet seals as outlined by the Fluid Sealing Association. The landscape for electric power generation continues the demand for more frequent plant cycling and higher operating efficiency. This results in accelerated wear and tear of valves and components. The pressurized bonnet-valve body junction is the final sealed boundary in high-pressure and superheated steam valves. With each pressure and temperature cycle, this critical sealed joint moves or flexes, causing wear and the potential for dimensional change. It is extremely important that a plant valve maintenance team and repair contractors take a systematic approach in the measurement, preparation and replacement of pressure bonnet seals to ensure safety, eliminate downtime, reduce outage cost and time, and improve operating efficiency. This training will identify the potential failure modes and define the proper systematic approach to measurement, specification and installation of pressure bonnet seals in this critical joint to ensure safety and success.

Remediation of Worn Valve Sealing Cavities & Surfaces Via Use of Graphitic Sealing Components

Date:Dec. 12, 3 - 5 p.m. CEU: .5 Instructors: Thom Jessup, Vice Chair of FSA Gasket Division of the FSA, & Brian Biller, Member of FSA Packing & Gasket Technical Committees Summary: Higher cycle rates required at power generation plants today cause greater wear rates on valve and pressure vessel sealed connections. Leakage in steam service due to this wear can result in safety concerns, reduced efficiency, increased operating and maintenance costs. This training will focus on the material properties of flexible graphite, and the proper use of this material for sealing of worn surfaces as identified by the Fluid Sealing Association. The outcome of this approach will promote reduced maintenance time, and improved sealing.