A strategic turbine life assessment

Power plant

Station:

  • Coal-fired, 4 x 650MW, located in the far east

Objective:

  • Comprehensive life assessment of HP-IP-LP turbines, prior to possible corporate re-structuring
  • Evaluation of start-up/shut-down procedures

Approach:

  • Detailed finite element analysis of all thermal and mechanical loads during steady running and current hot, warm and cold starts
  • Creep and fatigue life assessment in conformity with R5 methodology

Benefits:

  • Established that remaining life exceeds operational requirements
  • Confirmed that current start-up/shut-down procedures are relatively innocuous and do not need to be changed to extend life
  • Components ranked by life consumption
  • Future inspection prioritised by critical location

Plant Integrity