International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Volume 119 No. 16 2018, 3197-3205

ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version)
url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/
Special Issue
http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/

REVIEW ON CONDENSER AIR LEAK TEST

1
Neethu Sathyan M, 2 Dr.Golda Dilip, 3Dr.G.Victo Sudha George
Research Scholar, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
Associate Professor , Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
Professor, Dr.MGR Educational and Research Institute, University,Chennai,India
1
nshaiju@gmail.com, 2 goldadilip.sse@saveetha.com, 3sudhajose72@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
In steam turbine based power generation systems, the performance of steam turbine drops due to
low condenser vacuum because of air ingress. One of the major challenges in this area is early
and accurate detection of air in leak point of condenser. The review focuses on different
methods of condenser air in leak test and its importance. Different types of gaseous tracers test
are popular in condenser leakage test. In Helium leak test, helium is sprayed around the surface
of condenser, which is under vacuum condition. At the outlet of the vacuum pump, low
concentration of the helium gas is detected by the mass spectrometer. SF6 is another major
gaseous tracer used in industry. Ultrasonic Acoustics (UA) method can be used to detect air
ingress into the condenser. As air is drawn into the condenser creates turbulence with strong
ultrasonic components and which can be identified by specialized detection equipment. Infrared
thermal image method is an emerging technology for condenser leakage test. High resolution
thermal images of condenser surface can be captured by the advanced class of infrared cameras.
The surface temperature pattern obtained from the thermal image of condenser is used to identify
air ingress into the condenser. Tracer gas method is widely used in industry. Gas tracer test is
time consuming and experts are required for detection of leakage in condenser. Tracer gases are
costly and reversely affect the different components of power plant. High acoustic noise in plant
area is the major challenge for Ultrasonic Acoustic method, which adversely affect accuracy of
the condenser leakage test. Infrared thermal image method is none contacting and easy image
capturing using infrared camera in which data is in digital form. Accuracy of the data depends
upon the resolution of infrared camera. Application of advanced image processing tools can also
improve the accuracy of condenser air leak test.
Keywords: Air ingress , Condenser , Gas tracer , Infrared image ,Steam turbine, Ultrasonic
Acoustic.

1. INTRODUCTION
In steam turbine based power plant the basic principle of power generation is Rankine cycle. In
Rankine cycle the major components are boiler feed pump, boiler, turbine and condenser. Boiler
feed pump pressurize the water into very high level and transport to boiler. In boiler heat is
added to the water and become high pressure super heated steam. Turbine extracts work from

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this high pressure super heated steam and convert it into low pressure wet steam. When the
steam exits from the last stage of steam turbine, it becomes low pressure and low temperature
wet steam. Condenser converts this low pressure wet steam in to water, which is then feed to the
boiler to continue the cycle. In condenser the steam to water conversion leads to reduction of
specific volume, hence condenser operates in vacuum. Deterioration of condenser vacuum is one
of the major challenges in thermal power plants [1]. Condenser vacuum is maintained by vacuum
pump, which removes dissolved gases from condenser. This vacuum increases the power out and
efficiency of Rankine cycle, since pressure gradient across the turbine determine power output
and efficiency. Hence condenser vacuum is one the important monitoring parameter in thermal
power plant.
The condenser is convert steam into water at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure. Air
cooled condensers, water cooled condensers and evaporative condensers are different types of
condenser. Evaporative condensers cooled by the evaporated water which taken away the heat
from the condenser. An Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) is a direct dry cooling system where the
steam is condensed inside air-cooled finned tubes. Water-cooled condensers are heat
exchangers, which exchange heat to the cooled water and steam become condensed.

Condenser performance can be influenced by a wide range of factors such as air in-leak, vacuum
equipment capacity ,air venting efficacy, other factors related to plant operating conditions. Air
ingress to condenser has adverse affect on plant performance and equipment life. High air in
leakage can increase condenser back pressure, which leads to the reduction of efficiency and
power out of turbine. In addition to that air ingress increases the dissolved oxygen in the cycle,
which in turn reduces life of equipment. Hence detection of air ingress into the condenser is an
important work in power plant.
The most common method to identify condenser air in-leakage test is gaseous tracer gas leak
test, in which helium is used as a tracer gas [3]. In this method tracer gas is sprayed around the
portion of condenser where leak in is suspecting and low concentrations of tracer gas is detected
by mass spectrometer at the outlet vacuum pump. Based on the trace of helium, air leak in point
can be identified. Helium is used as a tracer gas, because of the non-toxic, non-flammable non-
reactive Condenser leakage test properties and quick diffusion though small leaks. SF6 is also
used as tracer gas. In another condenser leakage test, instead of Helium use SF6 as tracer gas. It
will follow the similar methods of helium tracer gas. Alternate method is ultrasonic leak
detection, which is having limited success because noisy plant environment.

2. CONDENSER

The condenser is convert steam into water at a pressure less than atmospheric pressure. In
Condenser heat of low pressure steam is removed by circulating cooling water. During
condensation process vapour is changed to water by removing latent heat energy. The condenser
is a large shell-and-tube type heat exchanger. Steam flows through the shell side and cooling
water flows through the tube side of the condenser. Water-cooled condensers are heat

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exchangers, which exchange heat to the cooled water and steam become condensed. Figure 1
shows the images of a water cooled condenser.

Figure 1. Water cooled Condenser

Condenser performance can be influenced by a wide range of factors such as air in-leak, vacuum
equipment capacity ,air venting efficacy, other factors related to plant operating conditions. Air
ingress to condenser has adverse affect on plant efficiency and equipment life. High air in
leakage can increase condenser back pressure, which leads to the reduction of efficiency and
power out of turbine. In addition to that air ingress increases the dissolved oxygen level in the
cycle, which in turn reduces life of equipment. Hence detection of air ingress into the condenser
is an important work in power plant.

3. EFFECT OF AIR INGRESS IN CONDENSER

Deterioration of condenser vacuum is one of the major challenges in thermal power plants. The
main causes of vacuum deterioration are low cooling water flow, fouling of condenser tubes,
cooling tower problems and air ingress to the condenser. Air ingress to condenser reduces the
heat transfer and increases the condenser back pressure. Air ingress to the condenser can be
through different means such as flanges of valves, expansion bellow, joints, seals, passing of
valves and other joints. Identification air ingress point of condenser is a difficult task for thermal
power plant customers. By reducing the turbine exhaust pressure ,the thermal efficiency of a
power plant can be increased .It can be achieved by enhancing the heat transfer rate in the
condenser tube. Air ingresses in condenser leads to increase the turbine exhaust pressure ,which
in turn decreases power output and plant efficiency. Figure 2 shows the impact of air ingress in
output power generation, gross power output decreases with increase of condenser absolute
pressure (decreases the condenser vacuum).

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Figure 2. The impact of air ingress in output power generation

4. CONDENSER AIR INGRESS TEST

The most common method to identify condenser air in-leakage test is gaseous tracer gas leak
test, in which helium or SF6 is used as a tracer gas. In this method tracer gas is sprayed around
the portion of condenser where leak in is suspecting and mass spectrometer detects low
concentrations of tracer gas at the outlet of vacuum pump. Alternate method is ultrasonic leak
detection, which is having limited success because noisy plant environment. Infrared thermal
image method is an emerging technology for condenser leakage test. High resolution thermal
images of condenser surface can be captured by the advanced class of infrared cameras.

4.1 Gaseous tracer helium

Helium leak test is considered as the most common method of condenser air in-leakage test, in
which helium is used as a tracer gas and a mass spectrometer use to detect helium. In this method
helium sprayed around the portion of condenser where leak in is suspecting and mass
spectrometer detects low concentrations of helium at the outlet of vacuum pump. Based on the
trace of helium, air leak in point can be identified [4]. The helium is used as tracer gas because
of properties such as an inert gas, the non-toxic, non-flammable and quick diffusion though small
leaks.
Using the helium technique, the source of most air in-leaks can be located with the unit online. A
helium monitor is installed in the discharge line of vacuum pump and trace of helium is
monitored . The leak detection survey starts at the turbine deck level and proceeds from top to
bottom of the unit, one deck at a time. Helium sprayed in one section at a time so that leak point
can be identified without overlapping, otherwise, the ability to associate a response with a

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particular source may become impaired. Figure 3 shows Helium Mass Spectrometers Detect
Trace Gases.

Figure 3. Helium Mass Spectrometers Detect Trace Gases.

In condenser helium leak test, heated water vapor from the vacuum pump discharge to be tested
in the mass spectrometer to find the trace of helium. This hot water vapour is having potential to
damage the mass spectrometer tubing. Another problem faced by this method is sensitivity
variation of detection of helium gas trace based on the position of probe. Due to viscous laminar
flow conditions helium detection sensitivity will be maximum, if the probe is place middle of
cross section of pipe. The lowest detectible concentration of helium is one part per million above
the background level, hence small leak in points cannot identify. The leak points are usually a
long distance from the mass spectrometer, hence distance communication is required.

4.2 SF6 as Tracer gas

Instead of helium tracer gas, Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is used as tracer gas. In this method
Sulfur hexafluoride sprayed around the portion of condenser where leak in is suspecting and
mass spectrometer detects low concentrations of Sulfur hexafluoride at the outlet of vacuum
pump. Based on the trace of Sulfur hexafluoride, air leak in point can be identified [4]. It offers
lower ambient background concentrations, lower cost per unit test than any other tracer.
Detection accuracies can be 40 times better than helium tracer. Commercial SF6 analyzing
equipment provides greater sensitivity and has lower maintenance requirements than any other
tracer system. The low concentrations of SF6 necessary for detection, low solubility of SF6 in
water and high efficiency of air removal systems on noncondensible gases can reduce the
portability that measurable amount of tracer gas is carry over into feed water system. Hence
reduce fluoride contamination on stainless steel component.

4.3 Ultrasonic Acoustics detection

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Ultrasound detection has become an alternative approach for vacuum leak detection. Ultrasound
is used by many power plants for condenser leak detection [5]. When used for process condition
monitoring, an ultrasound detector works by detecting ultrasound produced by the turbulent flow
of a pressure or vacuum leak. As a gas or liquid escapes from one higher-pressure system to the
lower-pressure side, the molecules become agitated. The turbulence produces sound pressure
variations at frequencies all along the spectrum from about 20 Hz up to 100 kHz. The amplitude
or intensity of the sound at the source of the leak is dependent upon a number of factors,
including pressure differential, directional radiation pattern, humidity, temperature and the
physical characteristics of the crack. The cost of a high-end ultrasound detector required for
condenser leak detection is less than a helium leak detection system and requires less training.

4.4 Infrared image

Recent evolutions in infrared cameras have become popular with power plant industry for hot
spot detection. Infrared cameras have been used successfully to capture the thermal image of any
object. Thermal image of condenser surface can be easily capture by the infrared camera and
transfer to computer for analysis [5] [6]. The comparative analysis of condenser thermal image
can detect the air in leak points.

Figure 4 Thermal Image of a condenser.

Comparative analysis required between non air ingress image and latest thermal image of a
condenser. Images of condenser for different operating condition were captured using infrared
camera and those images were stored in a database. During testing the latest captured image can
compared with the images in the database. Condenser air in leak can be identified by spatial
comparison of non air leak images with the testing image. The Figure .4 shows the infrared
thermal image of a small section condenser. The equipments required for this method is
advanced class thermal image camera such as Fluke TiX 1000 .Fluke TiX 1000 is having high
resolution of 2048X1536 and laser distance meter to measure distance between camera and the
object. Infrared camera Fluke TiX 1000 is shown in figure 5.

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Figure 5.Fluke TiX 1000

5. COMPARATIVE STUDY

Tracer gases are sprayed around the portion of condenser where leak in is suspecting and mass
spectrometer detects low concentrations of gas tracer at the outlet of vacuum pump.Gaseous
tracers test are popular in condenser leakage test, it is time consuming and experts are required
for detection of leakage in condenser. Tracer gases are costly and reversely affect the different
components of power plant. In Ultrasonic Acoustic method, sound generated due to air flow
from higher-pressure system to the lower-pressure side is used for detection of air ingress. The
turbulence produces sound pressure variations at frequencies all along the spectrum. High
acoustic noise in plant area is the major challenge for Ultrasonic Acoustic method, which
adversely affect accuracy of the condenser leakage test. This method is fast but experts are
required for detection of leakage in condenser. Thermal image of condenser surface can be easily
capture by the infrared camera and the comparative analysis of condenser thermal images can
detect the air in leak points. Infrared thermal image method is none contacting and easy image
capturing using infrared camera in which data is in digital form. Accuracy of the image depends
upon the resolution of infrared camera and application of advanced image processing tools can
improve the accuracy.

6. CONCLUSION

The review paper focused on different methods of condenser air in leak test and its importance.
Different types of gaseous tracers test are popular in condenser leakage test. Helium leak test and

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SF6 leak test are the major gaseous tracers based methods. Ultrasonic Acoustics (UA) method
can be used to detect air ingress into the condenser and it is considered as one of the advanced
method. As air is drawn into the condenser creates turbulence with strong ultrasonic components
and which can be identified easily by specialized detection equipment. Infrared thermal image
method is an emerging technology for condenser leakage test. High resolution thermal images of
condenser surface can be captured by the advanced class of infrared cameras. The surface
temperature pattern obtained from the thermal image of condenser is used to identify air ingress
into the condenser. The comparative study indicate that, tracer gas methods are widely used in
industry but it is costly, time consuming and experts are required for detection of leakage in
condenser. The accuracy of the Ultrasonic Acoustic method is reversely affected by high
acoustic noise in plant area. Infrared thermal image method is fast, none contacting and the
image capturing is in digital form. Accuracy of the image depends upon the resolution of infrared
camera. Early identification of air ingress using thermal image comparison is a difficult task.
Application of advanced image processing tools can improve the accuracy of Infrared thermal
image condenser air leak test.

REFERENCE

[1] Matt Crockett “Leak Testing Steam Turbine Condensers”BRO Forum AEP Plant
Engineering Programs Columbus (2009)

[2] “How to Diagnose/Troubleshoot Air Ingress” 7th annual Air-Cooled Condenser Users Group
, September 2015

[3] R Hollis, D Tondi “Condenser Leak Detection Guidelines Using Sulfur Hexafluoride as a
Tracer gas’’, Final Report, September 1988

[4] Anthony La Porte,Richard E. Putman “The Practical Application of SF6 and Helium for
Condenser Tube and Air Inleakage Detection” EPRI, Condenser Technology Conference,
August 1996.

[5] Matt Crockett “Predictive maintenance of BRO activities”BRO Forum AEP Plant
Engineering Programs Columbus (2009)

[6] S. Bagavathiappan “Infrared thermography for condition monitoring”Infrared Physics &

Technology Infrared Physics & Technology 60 (2013) 35–55

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