STB835Steam Turbine & Boiler Control Course
Turbine and boiler control coordination for power generation and utility steam systems - 2 days in the classroom or 16 hours online, covering turbine speed and load control, boiler-turbine coordination, drum level, and steam pressure and temperature control.
Steam Turbine & Boiler Control
The STB835 course trains power plant engineers, process control engineers, DCS technicians, and boiler and turbine operators to coordinate steam turbine and boiler control in power generation and utility process steam systems. Where BLR217 focuses on combustion control and drum-level control inside the boiler itself, STB835 moves outward to the coupling between the boiler and the turbine, covering turbine speed and load control, Boiler Follow, Turbine Follow, and Coordinated Control modes, and how combustion control response interacts with turbine demand as load changes.
STB835 runs as 2 days of classroom training or 16 hours online, and moves from steam cycle and control-mode fundamentals into applied coordination strategies for drum level, steam pressure, and steam temperature. Attendees work through the same boiler-turbine coordination challenges covered on PiControl's process control software for power plants page - pressure swings on load changes, superheater and desuperheater interactions, and coordination drift between boiler and turbine - and learn how DCS-resident control and PID tuning are applied to keep those loops steady through load-following duty.
What You Learn in the STB835 Steam Turbine & Boiler Control Course
STB835 moves from steam cycle and control-mode fundamentals into applied boiler-turbine coordination, drum level, steam pressure and temperature control, and the interaction between combustion control and turbine response. After completing the course, attendees can read and evaluate a coordinated control scheme, recognize the causes of pressure swings and coordination drift between boiler and turbine, and apply PID tuning and DCS-resident control strategies to keep those loops steady through load-following duty.
The course covers the following topics.
Steam turbine & boiler control fundamentals
- Introduction to power plant process control: boiler, turbine, and balance-of-plant systems
- Steam cycle fundamentals and the boiler-turbine-generator relationship
- Control loop terminology for power generation and utility steam service
- Overview of DCS-resident control for boiler and turbine systems
- Load dispatch, generation demand, and unit ramp rates
Boiler-turbine coordination & control modes
- Boiler Follow, Turbine Follow, and Coordinated Control modes
- Boiler master pressure control and turbine demand signals
- Keeping steam production and turbine demand in balance during load changes
- Diagnosing pressure swings caused by a poorly tuned coordination scheme
- Load-following duty: daily and weekly ramp dynamics
- Coordination drift between boiler and turbine, and how to recognize it
Drum level, pressure & steam temperature control
- Drum-level control strategies: single-element, two-element, and three-element control
- Feedwater control and its interaction with drum level
- Superheater, desuperheater, and reheater steam temperature control
- Spray valve tuning and steam temperature excursions along the steam path
- Turbine speed and load control loops
- Steam-path interactions and their effect on turbine metal stress
Combustion interaction & advanced topics
- Combustion air-fuel trim and furnace draft control
- Multi-fuel firing and furnace pressure control
- How combustion control response interacts with turbine demand as load shifts
- Diagnosing oscillation and valve stiction on boiler and turbine loops
- Applying PID tuning and DCS-resident APC to boiler-turbine coordination loops
Once these topics are complete, engineers can evaluate a plant's coordinated control scheme and apply tuning and diagnostic methods to boiler-turbine loops rather than treating boiler and turbine control as separate problems.
Who the Course Is For
STB835 is built for the people responsible for coordinating boiler and turbine control in power generation and utility steam systems: power plant engineers, process control engineers, DCS technicians, and boiler and turbine operators. BLR217 (Boiler Control Systems) or equivalent plant experience is helpful but not required, because the course starts from steam cycle and control-mode fundamentals before moving into applied coordination.
Power plant & process control engineers
Gain a structured understanding of Boiler Follow, Turbine Follow, and Coordinated Control modes, plus the tuning methods used to keep steam production and turbine demand in balance through load changes.
DCS technicians & instrumentation engineers
Learn to recognize coordination drift, pressure swings, and steam temperature excursions between boiler and turbine loops, and connect those symptoms back to the control scheme causing them.
Boiler & turbine operators
Build a working knowledge of drum level, steam pressure, and steam temperature control alongside turbine speed and load control, so day-to-day operating decisions account for both sides of the coordination.
Bring your whole team
STB835 also suits full teams from a single power plant or utility site. Group participation works well ahead of a unit upgrade, a coordinated control retune, or a shift to more load-following duty, and companies use the course for technical onboarding and control room readiness programs. Onsite corporate training is available on request so a team trains together on its own boiler-turbine coordination scheme.
Certification and Course Materials
STB835 attendees receive a PiControl STB835 Completion Certificate, which supports professional development records and can be added to a resume or LinkedIn profile. Course material consists of training slides covering boiler-turbine coordination, control modes, and steam-path control, plus the certificate of completion.
Engineers who want the boiler-specific foundation before this course typically start with BLR217 (Boiler Control Systems), and PiControl offers follow-on courses such as APC200 for engineers moving into advanced process control on boiler and turbine loops.
- Completion certificate
- Boiler-turbine coordination & control-mode training
- Drum level & steam temperature control practice
- Combustion-turbine interaction troubleshooting
- Follow-up guidance
- BLR217 & APC200 pathway
STB835 Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to the questions engineers ask most before enrolling in the STB835 Steam Turbine & Boiler Control course.
Request Info for STB835
Request course info for STB835 to give your engineering team a practical steam turbine and boiler control course, from coordination fundamentals through drum level and steam-path tuning, with a completion certificate. Online, 2-day classroom, and onsite formats are available, so teams in any location or time zone can start. New to boiler control? Start with BLR217 (Boiler Control Systems), or return to the full training catalog.
Related: Process control software for power plants. Questions: info@PiControlSolutions.com, Tel: (832) 495 6436.