Operational data can help formulate recommendations for Shock Pulse Generators.
To assess the impact of boiler cleaning on plant operations, merely examining individual measurements often proves insufficient.
Instead, various operational data must be considered in conjunction, tailored to the specific plant operation mode and analysed efficiently. This article explains how boiler cleaning expert, Explosion Power evaluates the temporal progression of plant operations using operational data and based on this assessment, formulates recommendations for the optimal operation of Shock Pulse Generators (SPG).
Creating a boiler model
Based on P&ID schematics and boiler drawings, Explosion Power creates a boiler model (digital twin).
The boiler model documents how the boiler is configured (type of tube bundles, arrangement of bundles, geometric details) and identifies measurement points, which are essential for the operational data assessment.
All operational data, which is shared by the plant operator, is stored on an Explosion Power cloud platform where it is visualised and analysed in collaboration with the plant operator. The comprehensive and efficient analysis of boiler operational data forms an essential foundation for the dialogue between the plant operator and Explosion Power. Based on this foundation, Explosion Power can do three things: 1) easily discuss the operational data, crucial for boiler operation; 2) present the results of the boiler cleaning transparently and demonstrate the impact on the boiler’s operation in a comprehensible manner; 3) optimise the boiler cleaning with the collected data and insights.
Applied scenario 1: Heat exchange bundles
How does this help with boiler cleaning for heat exchanger bundles?
When it comes to heat exchanger bundles, in addition to heat transfer, the pressure drop of flue gases plays a significant role. The illustration (left) refers to scenario 2 and demonstrates that unacceptable increases in pressure drop can be avoided by temporarily increasing the cleaning power of the Shock Pulse Generators (SPG). In our boiler analysis, we can take into account, that pressure drop depends not only on fouling but also on the load.
Applied scenario 2: Heating surfaces in empty passes
An important objective for cleaning empty passes, is to limit the flue gas temperature at the inlet to the subsequent convection pass. Through our boiler analysis, we determine the cleaning intensity required to ensure the desired temperatures. Additionally, we can compare different operating periods, for example, when a Shower Cleaning System (SCS) was replaced with Shock Pulse Generators (SPG).
