Performance evaluation of a coal-fired power plant

This article presents the performance (availability) evaluation of a typical coal-fired power plant in a realistic working environment for identifying the critical sub-system and planning the preventive maintenance schedule. For analysis, the entire thermal system is broken down into six sub-systems i.e., turbine, condenser, coal supply, water circulation, air circulation and boiler sub-systems; these are further subdivided into a number of units. Formulation for availability of each sub-system is based on well-known Markov birth-death process. Sensitivity analysis is performed to identify critical units in each sub-system. The overall availability index of coal fired plant is evaluated by combining all six sub-systems. Results revealed that water circulation is a robust sub-system, while boiler along with F i unit (combined of furnace, boiler drum, tubings and fuel firing) is most critical for given failure and repair rates of each unit. For failure free plant operation, the repair priority of boiler and its unit Fi should be accorded. © RAMS Consultants.Printed in India.