Due to the penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources, conventional coal fired power plants need to operate with greater flexibility via two-shifting or low load operation whilst remaining reliable and conserving the lifetime of components. Thick sectioned components are prone to thermal fatigue cracking as a result of through-wall temperature gradients during start up and shutdown. These temperature gradients can be significantly amplified during quenching when components at high temperature are unintentionally exposed to colder liquid or steam. Such quench events are known to occur during two-shift operation of a large once-through coal fired tower type boiler, which is the subject of this study. The purpose of this study is to develop and demonstrate a methodology to determine the root cause of quenching in a once-through tower type boiler and provide information that can be used to predict the impact on thick-walled components by estimating the through-wall temperature gradients. The first modelling element in the methodology is a simplified transient heat transfer model for investigating condensation of steam in the superheater. The model is presented and verified by comparison with real plant data. The second element is a liquid tracking model that approximates the liquid level in the superheater as a function of time to predict the location and magnitude of through-wall temperature gradients. The complex geometry of the superheater was divided into a number of control volumes and a dynamic thermo-fluid process model was developed to solve the transient conservation of mass and energy equations for each volume using a semi-implicit time wise integration scheme. The liquid tracking model was verified by comparison with a similar model constructed in Flownex and also by comparison with plant data. Varying levels of discretisation were applied to a particular quench event and the results are presented. The third modelling element is a two-dimensional transient pipe wall conduction model that is used at selected localities to evaluate the temperature gradients within the pipe wall. The temperature gradients and internal heat flux were verified by temperature measurements from the outer surface of a main steam pipe undergoing quenching. The stresses associated with the temperature gradients were also briefly considered. The real plant quenching problem is analysed in detail and found to be caused by liquid overflow from the separators. A particular plant configuration creates a previously unidentified siphon of water from the separating and collecting vessel system into the superheater. This situation is not recognised by plant operators and thus persists for some time and causes flooding of the superheater. Analysis of the resultant through-wall temperature gradients show that quenching causes significant stresses which can be avoided. By understanding the causes and preventing the occurrence of quenching, the life of thick-walled high temperature components can be conserved.

Heat exchangers and steam headers are at the heart of any boiler and are susceptible to a range of failures including tube leaks, ligament cracking, creep and fatigue. These common forms of header failure mechanisms can be exacerbated by local thermal stresses due to temperature and flow maldistribution at full and partial boiler load operations. The purpose of this project is to develop process models of the outlet stubbox header of a final superheater (FSH) heat exchanger in a 620MW coal-fired drum type boiler. The process models were used to assess the impact of steam flow and temperature distribution on the thermal stresses in the header material. The process models were developed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Thermocouples were installed at key locations on the stubbox headers to monitor metal temperatures and the measured metal temperatures served as boundary values and for validation of the CFD results. The thermocouple data was analysed for three different steady state boiler loads, namely full load, 80% load and 60% load. It showed that the temperature distribution across these headers was not uniform, with a maximum temperature difference across the outlet stubbox of 40℃ at full load and 43℃ at partial loads. Other relevant power plant data, such as steam pressure, was provided from the power plant's Distributed Control System (DCS) and was used as boundary conditions for the CFD models. The exact mass flow distribution across the inlet stubs of the outlet stubbox header was unknown and was estimated using a CFD model of the inlet stubbox header and steam mass flow values from power plant's DCS system. A CFD model was created for each of the three boiler loads at steady state conditions. The CFD results provided the metal temperature profile, internal steam temperature distribution and pressure distribution across the header. The CFD solid temperatures were validated using the thermocouple readings and found to be in agreement. The CFD results were exported to the FEA models, where specific displacement constraints for thermal expansion were utilised. The FEA models were used to assess the extent of thermal stresses due to thermal expansion only, as well as stresses due to thermal expansion combined with internal pressure. High local stresses were found at the borehole crotch corners of the rear outlet branch and inlet stubs. However, these are below 0.2% proof strength at elevated temperatures. The high local stresses thus did not result in local plastic deformation but contribute to exacerbate steady state failure mechanisms such as creep.

Industrial boilers that produce steam or electric power represent a large capital investment as well as a crucial facility for overall plant operations. In real applications, the operation of the superheater for producing high-pressure, high-temperature steam may result in problems frequently caused by ruptured superheater tubes. To make the boiler more efficient, less emission and less prone to tube rupture problems, it is important to understand the combustion and thermal flow behaviors inside the boiler. This study performs a detailed simulation of combustion and thermal flow behaviors inside an industrial boiler. The simulations are conducted using the commercial CFD package FLUENT. The 3-D Navier-Stokes equations and five species transport equations are solved with the eddy-breakup combustion model. Calculation of NOx is performed after obtaining a converged flow, thermal and combustion solution. The results provide insight into the detailed thermal-flow and combustion in the boiler and showing possible reasons for superheater rupture

Abstract The Generalized Predictive Controller in transfer function representation is proposed for the cascade control task. The recommended cascade GPC (CGPC) applies one predictor and one cost function that results in several advantageous features: The disturbance regulations of the inner and the outer loops can be totally decoupled; The inner disturbance regulation is well damped, the typical overshoot of the traditional cascade control structure is avoided; The robustness properties of the inner and the outer loops can be designed separately; The anti-windup properties of the CGPC are exactly as perfect as in the case of the simple SISO GPC. The typical problem of the saturation in the inner loop, resulting in modeling error for the outer loop, is prevented. The CGPC was applied as the oxygen controller of a pilot fluidized bed boiler. The investigation is based on simulation experiments and on experiments on a pilot scale boiler. In another simulation experiment, the CGPC was applied as the temperature controller of at a steam superheater stage. The results of the experiments well illustrated the power of the proposed cascade control algorithm.

Critical components in coal-fired power plants such as final superheater heat exchangers experience severe conditions associated with high metal temperatures and high temperature gradients during base load and transient operations. Such adverse conditions could significantly reduce the life span of the components, especially due to the requirement of greater plant flexibility that is an essential part of the global power system transformation. Integrated thermofluid process models can be employed to obtain a better understanding of the relationship between the operational conditions and the metal temperatures. Thus, a methodology was developed to model radiant superheater heat exchangers in steady state and transient operations. The methodology is based on a network approach which entails solving the transient one-dimensional forms of the conservation equations for mass, energy and momentum. The model building blocks account for the convective thermal resistance on the steam side, the conductive thermal resistances of the tube wall and scaling or fouling on the tube walls, as well as the convective and radiative thermal resistances and direct radiation on the flue gas side. The model captures the physical layout of the tube passes in a tubesheet via the arrangement of the network building blocks. It is also possible to connect tubesheets together across the width of the boiler as per the arrangement in a real plant. The modelling methodology was first used to develop a process model of a convective cross-flow primary superheater heat exchanger with complex flow arrangement. The dual-tube 12-pass superheater was discretized along the flue gas flow path as well as along the steam flow path. The model was qualitatively validated using real plant data from literature and for reference purposes also systematically compared to conventional lumped parameter models. The ability of the model to analyse the effect of ramp rate during load changes on the tube metal temperature was demonstrated, as well as the ability to determine the maldistribution of flow and temperature on the steam and flue gas sides. The methodology was also applied to model a U-shaped radiant superheater heat exchanger. Due to the challenges associated with obtaining comprehensive real plant data in an industrial setting, a validation methodology was proposed that is based on a combination of plant design C-schedules and a boiler mass and energy balance, as well as limited plant measurements. The consistent comparisons with C-schedule data provide evidence of the validity of the model, which was further demonstrated via the comparisons with real plant data. The model allows prediction of the steam mass flow and temperature distribution going into the outlet stub headers as well as the main outlet headers for different inlet flow and temperature distributions on the steam and flue gas sides. These results were compared to detail real-plant measurements of the outlet header temperatures. The model also allows prediction of the metal temperatures along the length of the tubes which cannot readily be measured in the plant. The model was applied to demonstrate the impact of different operational conditions on the tube metal temperatures. Such integrated process models can be employed to study complex thermofluid process phenomena that may occur during intermittent, transient and low load operation of power plants. In addition, such models could be useful for predictive and preventative maintenance as well as online condition monitoring.

This master’s thesis is dealing with design of steam boiler for wood chips. Wood chips are considered as biomass and so the steam boiler is considerate to enviroment. Main purpose of this work is calculation of size and number of water/steam heating surfaces so the boiler can produce steam with required parametres of temperature, pressure and amount.

Orientador: Prof° Dr. Marcelo Modesto da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Energia, 2015. / A matriz elétrica brasileira mostra a geração elétrica movida a biomassa com representatividade de 7,6%, terceira maior, em 2014. Apesar dos números favoráveis para a geração térmica, a tecnologia possui um limite no que diz respeito ao uso do energético. O bagaço de cana-de-açúcar constitui a biomassa com maior potencial de geração elétrica no Brasil. Visto a grande versatilidade da cana-de-açúcar, como oferta de alimento e energia (açúcar, etanol e insumo para energia elétrica), é preciso dimensionar o ciclo térmico para atender as demandas de vapor para o processo, energia elétrica para suprimento da planta e maior quantidade de excedente para venda de energia elétrica. Desta maneira, o presente trabalho estuda os principais elementos com o objetivo de desenvolver um módulo computacional para a simulação de sistemas de cogeração baseados no comportamento termodinâmico de sistemas de potência à vapor (Rankine). Para modelagem dos módulos e do ciclo termodinâmico do sistema de cogeração, foram considerados os conceitos termodinâmicos de balanço de massa, energia e exergia, baseados na Primeira e Segunda Lei da Termodinâmica, e conceitos de transferência de calor, baseados na diferença de temperatura média logarítmica. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que a metodologia disponível na literatura, para os volumes de controles da caldeira, está dentro dos limites de operação de uma planta real, com eficiências de primeira lei em torno de 84% e de segunda lei de 30%. A modelagem do condensador, turbina e bomba foram realizadas de acordo com os conceitos teóricos destes equipamentos. / Brazil¿s electricity matrix presents electricity generated from biomass with a 7,6% share, third major. Regardless of the thermal generation¿s favorable numbers, there is a limit to the technology when it comes to the use of the fuel. The sugarcane bagasse represents the biomass with the highest potential for electricity generation in Brazil. In view of the great versatility of sugarcane, as food supply and energy (ethanol and electricity), it is necessary to properly design the thermal cycle in order to meet the process steam demand, the plant energy requirements, and a higher amount of surplus energy to sell. The present work approaches the main elements of a cogeneration system in a sugarcane plant with the aim of developing a computational tool for the simulation of cogeneration systems based on the thermodynamic behaviour of steam power systems (Rankine). For the modelling of the modules and the thermodynamic cycle of the cogeneration system the thermodynamic concepts of mass, energy and exergy balances, according to the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, and the heat transfer concepts, based on the logarithmic mean temperature difference approach, were taken into account. The results demonstrate that the methodology available in the literature, concerning the control volume for the boiler, is within the operational limits of an actual boiler, with first law efficiency of about 84% and second law efficiency of 30%. The modelling of the condenser, turbine and pump were carried out according to the theoretical concepts of each equipment.

This thesis is focused on the application of advanced methods for evaluating damage to boiler tubes, specifically temperature related damage. The aim of this work is to develop an improved damage evaluation procedure utilizing capabilities of modern approaches. This work describes various types of industrial boiler damage. The main focus is on the most exposed and often the most damaged parts of boilers, which are tube bundles (for example, superheaters). Equipment damage is undesirable and often leads to leakages or even to the boiler shutting down. Therefore, it is necessary to find the problem as soon as possible and make the required changes to prevent further damage. The damage types are divided into five categories based on the damage mechanism. Temperature has one of the biggest influences on damage and it may cause short-term or long-term overheating in the tube bundles. This type of damage occurs when the designated temperature is exceeded and results in reduced creep life. It is necessary to know the real surface temperature history of the tube bundle to estimate temperature related damage, however this is often not available. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate those temperatures based on the available data (i.e. inlet and outlet temperatures and pressures). This is real challenge due to the combination of complex flows of the working substances (mainly flue gasses) and heat transfer. Considering available data, new approach is proposed in order to obtain information required for residual creep life estimation. In the first step, thermal – hydraulic calculation is performed followed by a thermal load estimation of a superheater tube bundle in a natural gas fired boiler, using CFD simulations. In the next step, the surface temperature is evaluated and used to determine the temperature related damage, specifically the creep life estimation. The life expectancy is in some ways influenced by imperfections, and therefore at the end of this thesis the influence of the oxide layer on the inner side of tube and fouling on outer side of tube is described.

The purpose of this Diploma Thesis was the construction design of the steam boiler for fytomass. For the specified parameters of biomass have been gradually implemented stoichiometric calculations of which are further based calculation of enthalpies of combustion gas. In the next part have been dealt with heat balance of the boiler, the efficiency of the boiler, recirculation of exhaust gases and the temperature of the combustion gases in outlet from fire. Thereinafter, the proposal of particular heat surfaces of steam boiler was solved, so that the resulting number and size correspond to the desired parameters. The parameters are temperature, pressure and the amount of steam.

The aim of this diploma thesis is the construction design of the steam boiler burning pellets. Set parameters: 450°C; 5,2 MPa; 30t/h. Decision procedure: stoichiometric calculation, energy balance, calculation of combustion chamber and heat delivery surface.