Eneva, the privately owned energy-producing company in Brazil, reported problems in one of their power plants related to the old pneumatic actuators installed in combustion air dampers. Actuators are responsible for moving and controlling mechanisms or systems, requiring a control device and a power supply.
Malfunctions in the devices had stopped the continuous air supply to the boiler and caused an unexpected plant shutdown.
Eneva contacted ABB and requested an analysis of the cause of the problem in the actuators. They were also interested in a more reliable solution that would avoid further plant shutdowns and require less damper maintenance.