NDT.netJanuary2003,Vol.8No.

01

InServiceInspectionForCoalHandlingPlantOfThermalPowerStationsUsingNDT
By:M.M.JoshiM.Tech
CorrespondingAuthorContact:
Email:makarandj@hotmail.com

1.0Abstract:
Manyutilitysystemsintheworldhavepowerplantsoperatingwithfossilfuel.Inthethermalpowerplantsmaximumrequirementsoffuelisa
coal.Thehandlingofthisfuelisagreatjob.Tohandlethefueli.e.coal,eachpowerstationisequippedwithacoalhandlingplant.Maintenance
ofCriticalEquipmentsforCoalHandlingPlants(CHP)ofThermalPowerStationsistypicaljob.Thefailuresoftheseequipmentshaveledto
highmaintenanceandoperationcosts.GenerallyNonDestructiveTesting(NDT)techniquesadoptedintheresiduallifeassessmentofpower
plantcomponentslikeBoilers,Headers,Steamlines,Turbines,FeedwaterHeatersandCondensers.Thereasonforinspectiondependsonthe
componentanditseffectonplantoperation.Butoneofthemainsystemsofthermalpowerplantiscoalhandlingsystem.Nosucheffortsare
carriedouttoassessthelifeofcoalhandlingplantcomponent.
TheconceptofNDT,discussedinthispaperforCoalHandlingPlantistooffersignificantbenefits.GuidelinesforimplementationofNDTin
CHParealsodiscussedinthispaper.

2.0Introduction:
Tomaintainanefficientlyoperatingunitandavoidfailureofcriticalequipment,itisnecessarytomaintainthecriticalpartsofthatequipment.
TherearevarietiesofcriticalequipmentscomponentsinCoalHandlingPlants.Thesecomponentsrequireroutineinspectiontoensuretheir
integrity.Thepurposeoftheinspectionistoidentifyanydegradationintheintegrityofthesystemsduringtheirservicelifeandtoprovidean
earlywarninginorderthatremedialactioncanbetakenbeforefailureoccurs.ConventionalmethodsinCHPforidentifyingthepresenceofsuch
damageareoften"visual"methods.Foreachofthesecomponents,therecanbedifferenttypesofflawsanddamage.Thismayincludecracks,
pitting,materialdegradation,etc.Becauseofthiscombinationofcomponenttypesanddefecttypes,severaltypesofNDTmethodshavetobe
implementedinCHP.
AcarefulselectionofmethodsisnecessaryforeffectiveNDT.Itisessentialtoidentifythecriticalareaswherefailuresarelikelytooccurand
selectsuitableNDTtechniquesfordetectionofsuchfailures.Basedondesigncriticality,pastexperienceandpreviousfailureinformation,
suitableapproachininspectionmethodologiescanbeadopted.

3.0ImportanceofNDTforCHP:
ThebasiclayoutofCoalHandlingPlantisshownbyblockdiagram.(SeeFig.No1)thecoalisunloadedat
variousunloadingstationandtransportedbyconveyorstocrushingandscreeningplantviatransferhouse.
Aftercrushingrequiredquantityofcoalistransportedtobunkerviatransferhouseandremainingcoalisstored
instockyard.Thiscoalisreclaimedasperrequirement.Fromthebunkerthecoalflowsthroughcoalmillsto
boilerfurnace.ThemainaimofCHPtomaintainlevelofcoalinbunkersforsmoothcoalsupplytoboiler
Therearedifferentstreamsfortransportingofcoal.Forcaringoutpreventivemaintenancescheduleoneofthe
streamkeptundershutdown.Ifatthesametimebreakdownoccursinamachineinotherstream,which
interruptthecoalsupplytoboilers.Duethislossofgenerationwilloccur.
Aplant,whichsupplyofcoaltoboilershavingcapacityof750tonesperhourfailedtofulfillneedwillloss
generationof0.6MUforonehour.Thiscost1.20CoreofRupees.

Fig1:

WorkingconditionsinCHParedusty,dirtyandoftenwetconditions.Sothereisaconstantquesttoimprovemachineuptimeandavoid
unplannedmaintenance.TheNDTwillhelptochoosepropershutdownofstreamtoavoidfurtherproblems.

4.0ObjectivesofNDT:
ThemainobjectivesofNDTforCHPshouldbeasfollows.
1.EstablishingmethodforplanningtherequirementoflongleaditemsbasedonNDT.Andselectionofstreamforshutdownpurpose
basedonNDT.
2.PredictionofimpendingfailuresofcriticalplantcomponentslikeCrusherRotors,ConveyorPulleyShafts,inrealtimeresultingin
enhancedsafety,operationalreliability,availability,andmaintainability.

5.0InServiceNDTInspectionImplementations:
ThestepsforimplementensionofInServiceNDTInspectionaregivenbelow.

1.Detectionofcriticalarea/Equipments,
2.DefectIdentification
3.InSituExamination
5.1DetectionOfCriticalArea/Equipments:
InCHPtheequipmentswhichperformanceeffectsdirectlyonplantoperationandplantperformanceareknownasCriticalEquipment.Itis
importanttoidentifythecriticalequipmentofCHP.Crushers,WagonTippler,BunkerFeedingConveyorsandFeedersarecriticalequipments.
Tomaintainanefficientlyoperatingunitandavoidfailureofcriticalequipment,itisnecessarytomaintainthecriticalpartsofthatequipment.So
itisalsoimportanttoidentifythecriticalparts.Thepartsdirectlyaffecttheperformanceofequipmentperformanceandoperationsareknownas
criticalpartsofequipments.
5.1.1Crushers:
InCHPcrusherworkonprincipleofcombinationofimpactandattritioncrushing.Inthistypeofcrushingfirstcoalisbreakduetoimpactand
furtherscrubbetweentwohardsurfacestogetdesiredcoalsize.Somecrushersareworkonlyonprincipleofimpactcrushing.Generallythese
crushersareusedbeforefinalcrushers.
TheoutputsizeofcoalaffectstheperformanceofCHP.Naturallythesetwohardsurfacesofcrusherarecriticalparts.Oneofthesesurfacesare
knownasgrindingplatesandothermayknownasrings,hammersetc.Thelinkagebetweencrusherrotoranddriveassemblyarealsocritical
parts.Asfailureoftheselinkageswillstopcrushing.
5.1.2WagonTipplers:
InCHPgenerallytherearetwotypesofwagontippler.Theyareknownasrotatypeandrotarytype.Themaindifferencebetweenthesetipplers
isthatrotarytypetipplerishavingfloatingbarrel[1]androtatypetipplerturnsbetweentwobearings.
Thedrivelinkagesareundergoingofcyclicloadingandfailureoftheselinkagestoptheequipmentoperation.Duetothisunloadingofcoalcars
affects,whichdroptheperformanceofCHP.
5.1.3BunkerFeedingConveyors:
CHParehavingnumberofconveyorsbutbunkerfeedingconveyorsareplayingvitalrole.ThemainaimofeachCHPistomaintainbunker
levelsforsmoothcoalsupplytoboilers.AstheseconveyorsfeedsthebunkertheirperformanceaffectsCHPperformance.Thedrivelinkages
consistofgearboxandcouplings.Failureofanypartofthelinkagewillstopoperationoffeedingbunkerlevel.Sothesepartsarecriticalpartsof
bunkerfeedingconveyors.Theconveyorpulleysarealsocriticalparts.
5.1.4Feeders:
TheperformanceoffeedersaffectstheefficiencyofCHP.ThefeedersusedinCHPareApronFeeder,VibratingFeeders,RollerScreensand
VibratingScreenFeedersetc.Generallyvibratingfeeders,whichareused,areofelectromagnetictype.Thespringsandcoilsandsuspension
rodsarethecriticalparts.Weakcoilspringsthatarenotgeneratingsufficientacceleratingforcescanalsocauselowspeedandreducethe
performance.Invibratingscreenfeederhavecriticalpartlikebeamanditsmembers,drivelinkagesetc.ApronFeedersissturdymachinethe
maincriticalpartsarepans,chainandrollers.Therollerscreenshavecriticalpartsindrivelinkages.

6.0DefectIdentification:
Dependingupontheactualoperatingandenvironmentalcondition,materialpropertiesofCHPequipmentsdegradeasafunctionofservicelife
duetooneormoreofthetimedependentmaterialdamagemechanismsuchasfatigue,corrosion,erosionetc.SeeTableNo1
Component

Typeofdefect

TransferChuteLiners,
Grindingjibofcrushers.
TransferChuteLiners,
Grindingjibofcrushers.

Reductioninthicknessdueto
wearingofsurface

Affecting
factor
Continuous
coalflow

Developmentofcracks,holes

Impactofcoal

TransferChuteLiners,
Grindingjibofcrushers

Pitting

Conveyorstructures

Reductioninthicknessdueto
wearingofsurfaceandpitting

Conveyorstructures

Catastrophicfracturefailure

CrusherRotors,Motorshafts,
Developmentofcracks
SuspensionBars,Arms
Developmentofcracksinthe
Bearings
races
Conveyorpulleys

DuetoEnddiscfailure

Corrosive
componentof
coal
Corrosive
componentof
coal
CyclicLoading

Reasons
Frictionbetweencoalandcomponent
Crackgeneratedfromtheholesforfixingof
bolts
Thewetcoalwhenflowsthroughthen
chancesaremore.
Theacuminationofcoalonstructures
Aresultofmanufacturingfabrication
defectsorlocalizeddamageinservice,

Impactofcoal Duetointernalflaw
Improper
loading,

Duetointernalflaw

Cyclicloading

Failureoftheweldbetweenthehubandthe
enddiscinweldedinhubdesigns.

Drivefoundations

Boltfailure,Framefailure

Conveyorpulleys
WireropesofAerial
Ropeway

Failureoflockingassembly

Cyclicloading Aresultofmanufacturingfabrication
defectsorlocalizeddamageinservice,
Cyclicloading Failureoflockingbolts

Duedamageinstrut

Cyclicloading Duetoweakareaofstrut
Table1:

6.1FatigueFailures:
Repeatedcyclingoftheloadcausesmetalfatigue.Itisaprogressivelocalizeddamageduetofluctuatingstressesandstrainsonthematerial.
Metalfatiguecracksinitiateandpropagateinregionswherethestrainismostsevere.
Metalfatigueisasignificantproblembecauseitcanoccurduetorepeatedloadsbelowthestaticyieldstrength.Thiscanresultinanunexpected
[2]andcatastrophicfailureinuse.
Becausemostengineeringmaterialscontaindiscontinuitiesmostmetalfatiguecracksinitiatefromdiscontinuitiesinhighlystressedregionsofthe
component.Thefailuremaybeduethediscontinuity,design,impropermaintenanceorothercauses.Afailureanalysiscandeterminethecause
ofthefailure.
6.2StressCorrosionCracking:
Stresscorrosioncrackingisaninsidious[3]typeoffailureasitcanoccurwithoutanexternallyappliedloadoratloadssignificantlybelowyield
stress.Thus,catastrophicfailurecanoccurwithoutsignificantdeformationorobviousdeteriorationofthecomponent.Pittingiscommonly
associatedwithstresscorrosioncrackingphenomena.
Aluminumandstainlesssteelarewellknownforstresscorrosioncrackingproblems.However,allmetalsaresusceptibletostresscorrosion
crackingintherightenvironment.Structuressubjectedtofluctuatingserviceloadsarevulnerabletofatiguedamage
6.3InServiceExamination:
Periodicinserviceexaminationisnecessaryforcriticalcomponents.Innondestructivetesting,crackdetectionplaysanimportantrole.Various
NDEtechniqueslikeUltrasonicthicknessgauging,Ultrasonicflawdetection,Penetranttesting,Flourescentmagneticparticletesting,canbe
used.(SeeTableNo2)SpecializedtechniquessuchasDigitalRadiographyAcousticImpactTechniquescanbeusedforinserviceexamination.
Metallurgicaltestssuchasinsitumetalographusingreplica[4]method,insituchemicalanalysisbymetalspectroscope/Xrayflourescence
method,insituhardnessmeasurementcanbecarriedout.
Measurement
Equipment
Parameter Instrumentation
Positions
Description
Ultrasonic[5]thicknessgage[6]like
TransferChuteLiners,Grindingjibofcrushers,Conveyor
Thickness
Surface
NovaTG2
structuresetc.
TransferChuteLiners,Grindingjibofcrushers,Conveyor
Thickness DigitalRadiography[7]
Surface
structuresetc.
Ultrasonic[8]FlawDetector[6]like
CrusherRotorsJackshaft,GrindingjibsSuspension
Flaw
Surface/inside
QuantamTE
Bars,Arms,SprocketTiersDriveFoundationsetc.
Flaw
AcousticImpact[9]Technique
Surface/inside CrusherRotors,Bearings
Magnetic[10]FlawDetector[11]like
Flaw
Surface/inside WireropesofAerialRopeway
MD20WireRopeTester
Flaw
Weldregionsbyxraydiffraction
Surface/inside DriveFoundations
HighpressurepipelineofhydraulicsystemofWagon
Thickness Ultrasonic[12]thicknessgage
Surface
Tippler
Table2:

7.0Conclusion:
ByapplyinginserviceinspectionusingNDTforCriticalEquipmentofCHPwillallows:
Toplanshutdownbeforeseveredamageoccursandreducereactivemaintenancepractice.
Causeoffailurecanbeanalyzed
WillbenefitsinCriticalEquipmentavailability,optimizeduseofresources,reduceddowntime,whichincreasedavailabilityofCHP
Forapplyingthesemethodsofinspectionwillrequireasubstantialinvestment.Thereturnonthisinvestmentwillbedependentonthe
effectivenessofitsimplementationandthecommitmentofallpersonnel

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NDT.netinfo@ndt.net

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