Improvements in PF boiler instrumentation for advanced monitoring and modeling of thermal performance

The validation of advanced predictive models and monitoring methods of thermal performance in utility boilers is an important gap of technology transfer. One of the applications of these models is to achieve a study of heat transfer degradation due to fouling and slagging evolution in the boiler gas-steam and gas-water sections, through their overall heat transfer coefficient variation, as in the air preheaters, through their number of transfer units parameter value. For this purpose, it is necessary to close a global thermal balance of the installation, quantifying all heat losses and fuel consumption, and a detailed thermal balance for separated boiler sections and every air preheater. During 1996 and 1997, a project aimed at improve the quality and completeness of plant data with a view to validate advanced methods has been developed in an existing pulverized coal fired utility boiler, in Unit 2 of Teruel power plant (Teruel, Spain), owned by ENDESA. The first part of the study has included the classification and the evaluation of significance, accuracy and error source of available plant data. The second part of the project has addressed the study of new instrumentation, with the aim of defining the set of variables necessary to definemore » a detailed thermal balance of the boiler sections. The main conclusion obtained is that the boiler performance description improves significantly only correcting some deficiencies and absences of plant instrumentation, within a reasonable cost.« less