ASME International

Performance Test Code on Overall Plant Performance
 N PTC 46

Annotation

OBJECT AND SCOPE

This Code applies to any plant size. It can be used to measure the performance of a plant in its normal operating condition, with all equipment in a clean and fully-functional condition. This Code provides explicit methods and procedures for combined-cycle power plants and for most gas, liquid, and solid fueled Rankine cycle plants. There is no intent to restrict the use of this Code for other types of heat-cycle power plants, providing the explicit procedures can be met. It does not, however, apply to simple-cycle gas turbine power plants (see ASME PTC 22 instead). The scope of this Code begins for a gas turbine-based power generating unit when a heat-recovery steam generator is included within the test boundary.

To test a particular power plant or cogeneration facility, the following conditions must be met.

(a) a means must be available to determine, through either direct or indirect measurements, all of the heat inputs entering the test boundary and all of the electrical power and secondary outputs leaving the test boundary;

(b) a means must be available to determine, through either direct or indirect measurements, all of the parameters to correct the results from the test to the base reference condition;

(c) the test result uncertainties are expected to be less than or equal to the uncertainties given in Subsection 1.3 for the applicable plant type; and

(d) the working fluid for vapor cycles must be steam. This restriction is imposed only to the extent that other fluids may require measurements or measurement methods different from those provided by this Code for steam cycles. In addition, this Code does not provide specific references for the properties of working fluids other than steam.