Steinmüller Africa has dispatched its first fully designed and manufactured entirely in South Africa Header-type HP Heater into service at a South African power station. The successful completion of this project is proof that world-class power-generation equipment can be conceived, engineered and built entirely on South African soil.
The specialised heat exchanger uses bled steam from the turbine to preheat boiler feedwater, improving a power station’s overall thermal efficiency. This delivery is a milestone that lands at a moment when South Africa’s energy sector is under pressure to do more with less.
“The HP Heaters will improve power plant efficiency by using extraction steam from the turbine to heat boiler feedwater before it enters the boiler,” says Moso Bolofo, Executive Director, Steinmüller Africa.
From Blueprint to Boiler Room: Six Years in the Making
The project’s, from concept to delivery, ran through Steinmuller Africa’s in-house systems, from using its advanced 3D modelling systems, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, to in-house fabrication technology.
Focusing on weld quality, the company opted to move away from submerged arc welding, its original method for joining the nipples to the header, after it proved inconsistent and inefficient for this component. In its place, engineers qualified and rolled out friction welding technology. This change in welding technology resulted in a significant improvement to weld quality, consistency and production output in a single move.
The Pretoria Workshop’s quality standards extended into new Kanban-based production processes, combined with ongoing improvements to welding and assembly methods. This turned a once-off build into a repeatable process; the production line can now hold its quality and delivery targets under serial production.
The Efficiency Gains Across the Boiler System
The reduced heat demand made possible by the HP Header-Type Heater shows up throughout the boiler system. Feedwater temperatures hold steadier, thermal stress on critical boiler pressure components drops, and coal consumption, along with the load on coal- and ash-handling systems, can fall as a result. The reduction in coal firing has a direct impact on reduced flue gas and related erosion, and by extension on boiler tube leaks.
“This project demonstrates the value of integrated planning, cross-functional collaboration, continuous innovation, and disciplined safety and quality management in delivering a technically complex engineering solution,” says Bolofo, “It’s proof of the engineering capability South Africa has built for itself.”
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