Analysis of long-term operation of the steam boiler live-steam outlet header and assessment of the feasibility of the header operation during accelerated start-ups

The energy mix in most European countries is now characterized by a growing share of renewable energy sources (RES). The random nature of RES entails the need to balance the differences between the current amount of power generated in the system and the actual power demand. For this reason, power units incorporating steam boilers are most often operated under sub-peak rather than base load regimes. This creates many challenges to boiler operators due to the advanced age of the power units in service. In Poland, for instance, 77% of power units are more than 20 years old and 45% have been working for more than 30 years, which means that most of them are approaching their design life time. Further operation of these units requires a detailed analysis of the degree of wear of critical pressure components, including a thermal and mechanical stress-state analysis. The paper aims to present a methodology of wear degree calculations incorporated in the power unit control system. The performed calculations are based on real measurement data obtained from 8 months of operation of a boiler unit with the steam output of 650·103 kg/h. Wear degree calculations and a thermal and mechanical FEM-based analysis are performed to assess the possibility of shortening start-ups to address the dynamic requirements that power units operating in the Polish power generation system will have to meet.