Quality and reliability — recipe for success

In view of the last events, some steps and programs are provided according to the approved Power strategy of Ukraine 2006-2030.
The Strategy provides preservation and development of gas transporting systems of Ukraine with the increase of their capacities on 30-35 billion cubic meters per year and to modernization in accordance with the European standards as well as enlargement of the underground reservoirs for storage of natural gas on 7 billion cubic meters per year.

Nowadays many elements of gas transporting systems need urgent modernization, repair or replacement. With this purpose specialists of JSC «Fakel» have visited many objects of the subsidiary company «Ukrtransgaz», including the compressor stations (CS) being the main part of gas transporting arteries.

On the basis of calculations executed by the research organizations experts of OJSC «Fakel» have developed a design of tubular heat-exchanger regenerators for the units ГТ-750-6 and ГТК-10, allowing to increase their efficiency essentially, to reduce consumption of fuel gas due to increase of the regeneration factor. The main advantages of the tubular heat-exchanger regenerators manufactured by the OJSC «Fakel» are reliability and the regeneration factor about 0.8. In spite of the lamellar regenerators aerodynamic resistance is reduced here and the possibility of breakage is practically absent. If lamellar regenerators are used intensively two-three years, vibrations and temperature drops will loosen an air path of the compressor and so reduce its efficiency.

So, due to the regeneration effect of efficiency of a gas turbine compressor increases on 3-4% allowing to save not less than 1.3 million cubic nm of fuel gas per year with the unit ГТ-750-6 and 2.6 million cubic nm with the unit ГТК — 10. Usually there are several such units at one compressor station. Modernization of all compressor stations will result in economy of millions dollars.

Since 1996 OJSC «Fakel» produced 22 tubular heat-exchanger regenerators for the units ГТК — 10 which are mounted at the compressor stations of «Ukrtransgaz» and JSC «Gazprom».

In 2003 the tests of the tubular heat-exchanger regenerators were performed at the compressor station «Lubny» of «Ukrtransgaz», which confirmed the calculated characteristics. The recommendation to their batch production was issued.

Positive experience of tubular regenerators instead of the lamellar ones in the units ГТК-10 has allowed starting their implementation in other units.

The batch of heaters «Факел-ПГ-5» was manufactured specially, for gas distribution stations with the consumption of gas less than 5 thousand cubic mitres/hour.

• The main advantages are:
• — high efficiency due to original design decisions;
• — automated start and safety control;
• — high economic efficiency.

The design of the heater provides stable work as with application of injection burner, so with a block one. The system of automatic control of the heater’s work provides step-by-step regulation of the burner’s capacity that allows reducing consumption of fuel gas. During the last year OSC «Fakel» started manufacture of capacitance equipment and the oven equipment. First of all these equipment is demanded in the market and designed for underground and ground storage of liquefied propane-butane, with volume of 5 — 25 cubic meters and pressure up to 16 bars. The devices can be horizontal, vertical and for the liquid mediums and designed for storage and distribution of gas and liquid mediums. Production of the capacitance equipment intended for discharge and storage of the rests of light oil, mineral oil, other oils, condensate, including mixtures with water was started. Capacitance devices arc made of steel and welded, designed reception, storage and distribution of liquid and gaseous mediums. The following types of such devices are produced: ВЭЭ, ГЭЭ, ВПП, ГКК. At the request of the customer these devices can be fitted with internal devices and a shield for heating. We receive many orders from the enterprises of food and chemical industry. As for oven equipment we mastered production of chamber furnaces t with periodic action for the electro heaters designed for thermal processing of products in the atmospheres of inert gases, in poorly regenerative atmospheres; chamber furnaces of periodic action for the tubular gas heaters for thermal processing of products in controllable atmospheres as well as chemical-thermal processing in gas environments; mine furnaces of periodic action for the electro heaters for thermal processing of products in atmospheres of inert gases and poorly regenerative atmospheres; muffle mine furnaces of periodic action for the electro heaters for chemical-thermal processing of products in gas environments; furnaces with a sliding back-stone of periodic action for electro heaters for thermal processing of products in the oxidizing atmosphere; furnaces with sliding backstone of periodic action for the tubular gas heaters for thermal processing of products in the oxidizing atmosphere; chamber furnaces for fusion of aluminium in gas heaters; generators of controllable atmospheres for preparation of endogas for annealing, heat strengthening, gas cementation with addition of hydrocarbon gas; electric polymerization furnaces for burning-off and polymerization of the polymeric coverings. Loading of the products in the electric furnaces can be realized with the help of pendant transport system. Design of the chamber pan be deadlock or through-pass on request of the customer. Multizoned regulation of temperature is possible. According to the customer’s order the enterprise develops and produces multizoned furnaces of continuous action with a walking beam, pusher, conveyors, units on the basis of furnaces with periodic and continuous action. Control of the heating and other technological processes is realized with the help of programmed regulators or controllers, which operate the power systems. The furnaces are fitted with metal recuperators and gas burners.

The enterprise constantly works on modernization of the produced burner equipment and develops new highly effective gas burners, including transforming of the systems work from black oil to natural gas. Block gas burners such as ГГС-Б are designed for burning natural gas in steam and water-heating boilers as well as in other thermal units. The following components are supplied with the burners: control unit, complete set of sensors and other detectors necessary for the control of technological process; two-wire gas burners 1 ГТП, designed for safe and economical burning of natural gas in the heating systems of tunnel furnaces for firing of castables, abrasives, building and other ceramic products. Burners are made according to ten standard sizes of thermal capacity. Each standard size of burners is made in six executions on length; gas burners such as ГГВ are designed for burning of gas with low pressure of 1274 Pa (130 mm of water column) and medium pressure of 1960O Pa (2000 mm of water column) in the steam and water-heating boilers, furnaces and driers. Burners can work on the reserve fuel (black oil, kerosene) after installation of fuel or kerosene atomizers; two-wire burners with compulsory injection of air ГНП-ЗАП, ГНП-ЗБП, ГНП-ЗБС, ГНП-ЗАС are designed for burning of natural and Liquefied gases in furnaces, dryers and other thermal units. Injection burner of type «B» is designed for burning of natural and other gases with the combustion heat of 17-35 mjoule/m3 and can be installed on the heating equipment in different areas of manufacture where compulsory injection of air is inexpedient.

Today Ukraine takes the first place among the CIS countries on use of natural gas as motor fuel. Network of the companies «Ukravtogaz», «Ukrtransgaz», «Naftogaz of Ukraine» consists of 88 stations located in 67 cities, capable to provide up to 70 thousand automobiles with the compressed natural gas and to release up to 625 thousand of liquid motor fuels. Taking into account the possibility of use of the compressed natural gas as motor fuel, OJSC «Fakel» actively introduced in manufacture metal-plastic cylinders for vehicles. The cylinder is facilitated and so useful loading on the automobile can be increased.

OJSC «Fakel» plans to develop and introduce in manufacture «on the turn-key basis» the automobile gas compression stations.

The enterprise introduces new ideas in modernization of released products as well as in development of new kinds of equipment. OJSC «Fakel» is starting manufacture of the automated gas distribution stations, which do not need a constant presence of the operator. They should change wide known stations «Энергия — 1» and «Энергия — 3».

On the 18th of February, 2005 OJSC «Fakel» received a certificate of conformance to the quality standard ISO 9001-2000 when audited by the company Bureau Veritas Ukraine, accredited by ANAB (USA) and UKAS (Great Britain).