Use of precision dissolved gas analysis for diagnosis of condenser performance

This paper describes several methods of determining condenser performance (in terms of noncondensable gas removal) by argon tracing, using the Dissolved Gas Measurement System (DGMS). The DGMS was developed by RCT for EPRI for air inleakage detection with the unique feature of measuring dissolved argon, an inert minor component of air. Actual case histories of the condenser work, using argon injection for tracing are presented which include the determination of condenser removal efficiency of dissolved gases in heater drains, pipe geometry studies, and the determination of the flooding of internal gas vent lines due to a problem with the condenser subfloors. As this type of work progressed from plant to plant, it became obvious that good, noncondensable gas removal by the condensers was the most effective way of reducing and controlling dissolved oxygen in power plants and that the DGMS using argon tracing is a good, analytical tool to precisely measure condenser noncondensable gas removal performance