Examination of operational and failure behaviour of thick-walled components for high efficient power plants (HWT II)
Project Number 354
The key goal of HWT II is to concentrate together with the ENCIO project all scientific and technological efforts to make 700°C technologies ready for deployment in coal-fired power plants. HWT II is an important step before the erection of a 700°C power plant can start.
This step consists of the installation of a test facility at the GKM power plant in Mannheim (Germany). The project is focused on scientific investigations, aiming at modelling the material and component behaviour and the validation of these results by means of specific designed component tests. Cyclic start-up and shut-down loading cause thermo-mechanical creep-fatigue in the material and thus delivers results about the failure behaviour of components in a flexibly operated power plant.
The technical concept of the test facility is as follows:
- Steam from the Unit 6 (530°C, 167.5 bar) will be heated up in the steam generator up to 725°C. In the test facility, the temperature can be controlled by water injection to reach a temperature range between 400 and 725°C (definitive cycling conditions). Before going back to the reheater of the unit, the steam will be cooled down with injection water and a steam cooler to at least 307°C. The pressure will be released down to 22 bars. Two steam control valves from Bopp & Reuter and Welland & Tuxhorn will be used for this.
- In the bypass of the test facility a very big bypass valve from Hora will be installed. Besides the function of the valve to release the steam in a case of emergency, the main focus is to verify the production process of such a valve.
- Dependent on the temperatures, the super heater tubes are out of martensites (P92), austenites (DMV310) and Nickel-based alloys (A263, A617B). The thick-walled pipes have an outer diameter of 200 mm and a wall-thickness of 50 mm and are out of A617B and A263. A header (A263 and A617B) with tubes (A740 and A617B) is integrated in this pipe. In the rear part of the test facility a transient load (cycling temperature between 400 and 725°C) is foreseen.
The project is financed by the industry and the German Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi, funding number: 03ET2017). The industrial fund consists of contributions of generating companies, equipment and material suppliers and inspection authorities involved in the project. GKM is contractor to the BMWi.
Full partners are research institutes, equipment and material suppliers and the companies BASF, EnBW, ENT, GKM, MVV and VGB, representing the following generators: CEZ, EDF, ENEL, Eskom, Evonik, EVN, GDF Suez, RWE, Vattenfall.
Other partners are ABB, BBS, BGH, BHR, Bopp & Reuther, Böhler, EagleBurgmann, IfW, IWM, KAM, KSB, Lisega, MPA Stuttgart, RWTH Aachen, Saarschmiede, SLV, SMST, TÜV, ThyssenKrupp VDM, V&M, Wrede & Niedecken, Welland & Tuxhorn.
The project has started in January 2011. The overall project duration is four years (48 months). The start of operation is foreseen for end of September 2012. The end of the project is planned for end of 2014.
On a half-year basis, the status of the project will be reported to the Technical Committee Materials and Quality Supervision.