Critical Feedwater Heater Refurbishment

A critical feedwater heater went out of service unexpectedly, and the standard replacement path — a new unit built to the original design — carried a lead time the plant could not absorb without an extended, costly outage. The client needed the heater back in service on an emergency timeline, not a standard project schedule.

Dolphin Group's engineering team reviewed the original design against the failure findings and identified specific improvements that could be incorporated into the refurbishment without extending the schedule — addressing the root cause of the original failure rather than simply restoring the unit to its as-built condition.

Refurbishment, inspection and testing were compressed onto an emergency timeline with no reduction in documentation or inspection coverage, keeping the same quality bar the client's programme required for any other critical component.

The refurbished feedwater heater was returned to service with an improved design and is now operating with enhanced performance over the original unit, turning an unplanned outage into a net gain for the plant's long-term reliability.