Damper maintenance made easy: ABB’s actuators minimize customer plant shutdowns

Case study | July 11, 2023

When a customer’s plant stopped working unexpectedly, the ABB team in Brazil stepped up to the challenge.

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.

The solution

The installation of ABB's Contrac electrical rotary actuators, designed for long and maintenance-free operation (up to 10 years), was considered to be the best solution for Eneva. The actuators also guarantee smooth loop control via direct torque modulation.

By using ABB's Contrac electrical rotary actuators, Eneva found a way to avoid unexpected shutdowns, reduce maintenance costs and increase plant safety.

All ABB actuators offer continuous control with a virtually wear-free operation, as well as the highest positioning accuracy and stability.

Eneva is very satisfied with ABB’s solution and already plans to use more ABB Contrac electrical actuators in its plant’s units. By using the actuators, Eneva found a way to avoid unexpected shutdowns, reduce maintenance costs and increase plant safety through optimizing combustion operations.

Find out more about ABB’s Contrac electrical actuators.