Power plant life assessment
View Patent ↗A method of evaluating a power plant having a design life based on operating the plant within an allowable chemical exposure range includes accumulating a history of a chemical exposure of a steam generating portion of the power plant. The method also includes determining a remaining life of the plant based on the history of the chemical exposure and assuming continued operation of the plant within the allowable chemical exposure range. The method may also include evaluating an economic value of operating the plant based on the remaining life of the plant.
1. A method of evaluating a power plant having a life based on operating the power plant within an allowable chemical exposure range, the method comprising:
identifying a projected future period of operation exceeding the allowable chemical exposure range of the power plant;
using power plant monitoring equipment, determining a remaining life of the power plant based on the period of operation exceeding the allowable chemical exposure range and assuming continued operation of the power plant within the allowable chemical exposure range; comparing an economic gain achieved by operating the power plant with the projected future period of operation exceeding the allowable chemical exposure range with an economic loss resulting from the remaining life of the power plant being shorter than a design life of the power plant due to the projected future period of operation exceeding the allowable range using the power plant monitoring equipment; and
after said comparing, intentionally continuing operation of the power plant for the projected future period of operation upon determining that the economic gain achieved by operating the power plant with the projected future period of operation exceeding the allowable chemical exposure range is greater than an economic loss resulting from the remaining life of the power plant being shorter than a design life of the power plant due to the projected future period of operation exceeding the allowable range;
wherein the comparing comprises using formula (I) to determine the allowable chemical exposure range:
A
t
=
∑
i
=
1
h
e
i
(
n
-
i
)
+
∑
i
=
h
c
e
i
(
n
-
i
)
+
∑
j
=
1
m
∑
i
=
c
n
a
j
(
n
-
i
)
;
(
I
)
and
thereafter using the determined allowable chemical exposure range in formula (I) to determine the remaining life of the power plant:
A
r
=
A
t
-
∑
i
=
1
c
e
i
+
∑
i
=
c
h
e
i
;
(
II
)
wherein A t is a total allowable exposure over a design life,
wherein A r is a total remaining life of the power plant,
e i is an exposure for a given year i,
h represents a number of years for which historical data was gathered,
c is a time in years of an exposure to abnormal chemistry,
n is a remaining life of the power plant in years,
i is an index for design years,
m is a number of Action Levels for a contaminant,
j is an index for a number of Action Levels, and
a j is an annual allowed exposure in Action Level/in concentration.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating an economic value further comprises including a factor selected from the group consisting of depreciation and a time value of money.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the power plant has a present current exposure exceeding the allowable range, and wherein the evaluating further comprises making a real time decision whether to continue to operate the power plant for the future period of operation exceeding the allowable chemical exposure range.