Non-Destructive Condition Monitoring for Power Plants

Low cycle fatigue at elevated temperatures, hot corrosion, and thermo-mechanical creep at supercritical steam conditions are examples of structural failures in fossil power systems. These failures may lead to forced outages and colossal loss of plant availability unless appropriate detection and maintenance actions are taken. This problem will be addressed by developing an information-fusion-based non-destructive condition monitoring (NDCM) system. The system will combine inputs received via a wireless network of disparate and heterogeneous sensors with an advanced analysis of sensor signals, in order to track for damage evolution. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: A successful project should significantly advance the state-of-the-art of real-time prognostic and condition monitoring capabilities in fossil power systems. The proposed technology would enable condition based maintenance for degrading components, which would greatly reduce the probability of unplanned outages.