Ceiling girder for India’s first 600 MW plant by BHEL
The Hindu, Jul 10, 2009
TIRUCHI: A ceiling girder,specially fabricated for the country’s first 600 MW power plant of BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) coming up at North Chennai Thermal Power Station, was flagged off by the Executive Director of BHEL, Tiruchi, A.V. Krishnan, here on Wednesday.

The 980 tonnes girder containing seven compartments is the largest to be designed and fabricated so far. Heavy thickness plates of 200 mm used for it involves special procedure qualification for welding and non -destructive testing. The equipment will be transported in units of 69 tonnes each.

Fabrication of this equipment warranted special material handling facilities coupled with safety precautions.

The preheated welding and post-weld heat treatment had to be very systematic and time-scheduled with back up documentation and records. Every stage of fabrication involves inspection and surveillance audit. Customer inspection was also one of the stages in the manufacturing process.

General Manager (Outsourcing) G. Ramakrishna presided over the function. A press release said the BHEL secured the order for the 600 MW sub-critical boiler on engineering, procurement, and construction basis against international competitive bidding from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) for its North Chennai - Stage II. Subsequently, TNEB placed a repeat order for supply of one 600 MW unit.

The first unit is slated for commissioning by the first quarter of 2011 and the second unit, after four months from the commissioning of the first unit.

Having designed the boiler indigenously, the BHEL has received orders for supply of ten boilers of similar capacity from private and government utilities.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued here today, A.R. Syed Arif, the Managing Partner of Five Star Industries (FSI), which fabricated the ceiling girder assembly, said that the FSI, a subcontractor to BHEL since 1980, was honoured with best supplier award for 2007-08 for heavy fabrication by BHEL’s Outsourcing Department, and was the largest supplier to the department for 2008-09.