The Test of Inner-flue Tube Wall Temperature of Superheater Based on the Power Plant SIS
Superheater and reheater tube failures were mostly due to excessive temperature, the inner-flue tube wall temperature of superheater make certain of tube thermal stress, material creep status and residual lifespan of tubes. So investigation of superheater safety began with experimentation of inner-flue tube wall temperature of superheater. In order to precisely learn inner-flue tube wall temperature of superheater of 600MW supercritical boiler, new measuring points are set on the superheater tube wall inner the flue. Since the working condition of 600MW supercritical boiler is quite severe, the temperature measuring points can only be used for short-term test. The data acquisition can be carried out automatically and a data storage system is required. The testing method in this paper transmit the measuring signal to the database of the thermal power control system through the redundant channel of the system. This method only requires new measuring points (thermocouple). The test data can be loaded directly from the SIS database, which saves not only money but also the work.
Monitoring power plant performance
Three performance-monitoring procedures available to utility enginers are discussed in this paper: energy accounting, testing of power plant components, and continuous display of controllable parameters. The paper also discusses utilizing performance analysis to link steady state models of a plant with a dynamic model. Dynamic analysis can also be used to simulate sudden upset conditions to see how the plant behaves. It also provides a new level of insight into steady-state operation.
Performance of Dissimilar Welds in Service
Dissimilar metal welds (DMWs) between austenitic and ferritic steel tubing and piping are commonly employed in high-temperature applications in energy conversion systems. Differences in coefficient of thermal expansion between the two types of steel induce thermal stresses at the welds and local metallurgical changes near the low alloy steel/weld metal interface due to prolonged service at an elevated temperature. These phenomena, together with the differences in creep behavior of the materials joined, render the DMWs more prone to failure than welds between similar steels. This has been reflected in relatively high failure rates in DMWs in certain service applications (e.g., in utility power plant boiler tubing). Typically these welds fail by low ductility cracking in the low alloy steel at, or very close to, the fusion line. A project, sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and managed by the Metal Properties Council (MPC), has made significant headway over the last three years in understanding the failure modes and causes involved and in developing methods to assess residual life of DMWs. Welds from service in superheaters and reheater tubes and from laboratory simulation tests were examined to establish metallurgical characteristics and failure modes. Three failure modes were identified: (i) Prior austenite grain boundary cracking in the ferritic steel, one or two grains away from the fusion line; this mode was mainly observed in DMWs made with stainless steel filler metal. (ii) Cracking along the weld interface, which occurred in DMWs made with nickel-base filler metal. (iii) Propagation of cracks initiating from oxide notches formed at the weld outside surface; this mode occurred mainly in thin-walled tubes. Creep damage induced by steady and cyclic loading was found to be the predominant mechanism for damage and failure; therefore a dependence of damage on loading levels and service temperature was established. It was also determined that failure susceptibility in DMWs made with nickel-base filler was strongly influenced by the type of microstructure that formed at the low alloy steel/weld metal interface. The technique developed for estimating the condition and remaining life of DMWs in service involves detailed assessment of loading histories to which the welds are subjected, along with the use of empirical quantitative relationships established from both laboratory and service data. The methodology assumes that damage results from the combined effects of self damage (caused by thermal cycling of materials of different expansion coefficients) and service loadings, including both primary loads (e.g., pressure and deadweight) and secondary, or cyclic, loads due to the constrained thermal expansion of the system as a whole. The technique, Prediction Of Damage In Service (designated PODIS), has been found to adequately predict levels of damage in stainless-based DMWs in service. It is currently being developed further to embrace nickel-based DMWs.