Intl J of Energy Research - 2011 - Duda - Numerical Method For Determining The Allowable Medium Temperature During The

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
Int. J. Energy Res. 2012; 36:703–709
Published online 28 February 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/er.1825
Numerical method for determining the allowable

medium temperature during the heating operation of a
thick-walled boiler element in a supercritical steam
power plant
Piotr Duda and Dariusz Rzasa,y
Department of Thermal Power Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Al. Jana Paw"a II
37, 31-864 Cracow, Poland
SUMMARY
The new generation of steam power plants operates at pressures higher than the critical pressure and at very
high temperatures. They are called supercritical power plants and their thermal efficiency is improved by
increasing their operating pressure and temperature. Such a demanding working environment causes high
stresses in the construction, especially during the heating and cooling operations. Additionally, the cyclic
character of loading during operations causes material fatigue, known as low-cyclic fatigue. This phenomenon
may lead to the formation of fractures. Steam boiler manufacturers make efforts to design pressure
elements to meet these high requirements. They make recommendations for conducting start up and shut
down operations in order to keep the stresses in the construction elements within acceptable limits and obey the
safety regulations. Thus, it is important to find optimum parameters that can ensure proper heating and cooling
processes (Struct. Multidiscip. Optim. 2010; 40:529–535, Proceedings of the Congress on Thermal Stresses, 2007;
437–440).
Paper (Proceedings of the Congress on Thermal Stresses, 2007; 437–440) presents the method for determining
the optimum medium temperature, which ensures that the sum of the thermal stresses and stresses caused
by pressure at selected points do not exceed the allowable stresses. The presented optimum medium tem-
perature consists of the initial medium temperature step and later increases in the optimum rate of temperature
change. The extended version of the paper (Proceedings of the Congress on Thermal Stresses, 2007; 437–440) was
published in 2010 (Int. J. Energy Res. 2010; 34:20–35). Another paper (Proceedings of the 8th International
Congress on Thermal Stresses, 2009; 2:399–402) presents the numerical optimization procedure, based on the
Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm that allows the optimum medium temperature to be established. This procedure
is based on the assumption that the thermal stresses in the entire construction elements do not exceed the allowable
stresses.
The aim of this paper is to present the method, which makes it possible to find the optimum parameters, so that
the total stresses during the start-up processes are kept at an acceptable level. The maximum absolute stresses,
caused by non-uniform temperature distribution and by pressure, are monitored not only at selected points but
also in the whole construction element.
The described method is of great practical significance and can be applied directly in the industry. It can be
utilized in supercritical as well as subcritical power plants. The method proposed can greatly enhance the
performance of the power units by reducing the duration of all the transient operations and extending their
longevity. The presented heating operation based on the optimum parameters is compared with the German boiler
regulation-Technische Regeln für Dampfkessel 301 (TRD) (Technische Regeln für Dampfkessel, 1986; 98–138).
Copyright r 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KEY WORDS
total stresses; steam boilers; heat transfer; heating optimization
Correspondence
*Dariusz Rzasa, Department of Thermal Power Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Al.
Jana Paw"a II 37, 31-864 Cracow, Poland.
y
E-mail: dariusz.rzasa@gmail.com
Received 24 April 2010; Revised 20 October 2010; Accepted 27 December 2010
Copyright r 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 703

1099114x, 2012, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/er.1825 by Indian Institute Of Technology Bombay (Iit-B), Wiley Online Library on [30/01/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
P. Duda and D. Rzasa Method for determining the allowable medium temperature
1. INTRODUCTION
The start-up and shut-down processes of the power
block devices cause high stresses in the construction
elements. These processes should be carried out in such a
manner that the total stresses that originated from the
internal pressure and thermal loading do not exceed the
allowable limit. The optimum operating parameters, i.e.
the initial fluid temperature and rates of temperature
change, have a great impact on the stress level in the
entire construction element. These parameters can be
evaluated using the German boiler code—Technische
Regeln für Dampfkessel 301 (TRD) [1]. The TRD 301
procedure is based on the quasi-steady, one-dimensional
temperature distribution in the whole component.
However, the heating and cooling processes are transient
operations, and the quasi-steady state does not occur.
Furthermore, the complicated geometry of the compo-
nent causes difficulties in assessing the regions with the
highest stresses. Thus, the operations conducted, using
parameters estimated according to the TRD 301 code,
may account for the state, where the allowable stresses
are exceeded. Paper [2] shows the numerical method
based on the golden search method, which could be used
to find the optimum medium temperature so that the
maximum absolute thermal stresses in the whole Figure 1. Geometry of the outlet header in millimeter.
construction element would not exceed the allowable
stresses. Another papers [3,4] describe methods for
determining optimum medium temperature history,
based on the assumption that total stresses at selected
points do not exceed permitted stresses. The aim of this
paper is to present the method, which makes it possible
to find the optimum parameters, so that the total stresses
at any point of construction element during the start-up
processes are kept at an acceptable level. For that
purpose, the Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) method is
used [5,6]. The heating operation is presented for an
outlet header, mounted in a supercritical power block.
The outlet header is one of the most heavily loaded
elements of the power block. This component is
mounted in power units of 460 MW. The geometry is
presented in Figure 1.
The outlet header is designed for pressure pw 5 29 MPa
and steam temperature Tw 5 5591C. The demanding
Figure 2. Mechanical properties of X10CrMoVNb9-1 (P91)
working environment cause high stresses in the elements.
steel.
The extreme working conditions of the outlet header
require special alloy steel to be employed in the con-
struction. The material must withstand the high working In order to find the total maximum stress variation
temperature and pressure while operating. It is important during the heating operation, a three-dimensional stress
that the material properties are retained within the wide analysis, based on the finite element method (FEM), was
temperature range, especially at the yield strength of Re. conducted. Since the outlet header geometry is symme-
The ferritic alloy steel, X10CrMoVNb9-1 (P91), is trical, 1/2 of the construction element was modelled and
widely used in the construction of power plants and analysed. The construction element was divided into fi-
other sectors involving temperatures higher than nite elements, as depicted in Figure 4.
5001C. This steel has a ferritic structure and high yield The type of element used in the analysis is an eight-
strength Re 5 334.5 MPa at the temperature node brick element. This kind of element guarantees
T 5 5001C. The thermal and mechanical properties [7] high quality results in a relatively short period of time.
are presented in Figures 2 and 3. The heat transfer coefficient on the heated surface was
704 Int. J. Energy Res. 2012; 36:703–709 r 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Method for determining the allowable medium temperature P. Duda and D. Rzasa
Figure 3. Thermal properties of X10CrMoVNb9-1 (P91) steel.
is reached. Next, the temperature of the medium

changes stepwise to a value Tf2 and rises with a
constant rate of change of temperature vT2 . Due to the
high internal pressure and temperature gradients
across the structural element, high stress concentration
areas occur on the inner surface of the outlet header.
The objective is to choose the optimum parameters, i.e.
the optimum rates of temperature change vT1 , vT2 and
the optimum fluid temperature steps Tf1 , Tf2 , in such a
way that the heating process is conducted in the
shortest time and the allowable stresses sa are kept at
an acceptable level. The optimum parameters Tf1 , vT1
and Tf2 , vT2 are found when the following equation is
satisfied:
sa smax ðTf1 ; vT1 ; Tf2 ; vT2 ; ti Þ ffi 0; i ¼ 1; . . . ; m; ð1Þ
where smax denotes the highest absolute value of the

component stresses, and m denotes the number of time
points during the heating process. In other words,
minimizing the sum
Figure 4. The outlet header divided into finite elements.
X
m
2 1 SðxÞ ¼ ½sa smax ðTf1 ; vT1 ; Tf2 ; vT2 ; ti Þ2 ffi 0;
assumed to be a 5 2000 W m K . This value was i¼1 ð2Þ
chosen for this construction element based on research
done [8,9]. The outer surface is perfectly isolated, so i ¼ 1; . . . ; m
there is no heat exchange between the component and
allows the optimum parameters to be established.
the surrounding environment.
Due to the nonlinear character of the considered
problem, the most appropriate method must be cho-
sen. For that purpose, the LM optimization algorithm
2. MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION is used, which is an iterative technique that finds the
OF THE OPTIMIZATION METHOD minimum of a function that is expressed as the sum of
the squares of the nonlinear functions. The updating of
During the heating process, fluid enters the inner space the parameters at every kth iteration step is performed
of a construction element. It has an initial temperature based on the following rule
Tf1 and then rises with a constant rate of temperature
change vT1 until the nominal working medium pressure xðk11Þ ¼ xðkÞ 1dðkÞ : ð3Þ
Int. J. Energy Res. 2012; 36:703–709 r 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 705
DOI: 10.1002/er
The unknown parameters of x are denoted as

x1 ¼ Tf1 , x2 ¼ vT1 , x3 ¼ Tf2 , x4 ¼ vT2 , where
dðkÞ ¼ ðHðkÞ 1ldiagHðkÞ Þ1 ðJðkÞ ÞT ½sa smax ðxðkÞ Þ;
ð4Þ
k ¼ 0; 1; . . .
The H and J are called the Hessian and Jacobian
matrices, respectively. They can be expressed in the
following way
2 @s1 3
. . . @s 1
@x1 @xn
@s max ðxÞ 6 . . . . . . . . . 7
JðkÞ ¼ ¼ 6 7 ð5Þ

@xT x¼xðkÞ 4 . . . . . . . . . 5
@sm @sm
. . . @xn
@x1 x¼xðkÞ
and

@2 smax ðxÞ
HðkÞ ¼
ð@xT Þ2 x¼xðkÞ Figure 5. Temperature and pressure history during the heating
2 @2 s1 3 operation based on TRD regulation.
. . . @x@1 s@x1 n
2
@x1 @x1
6 ... ... ... 7
¼6 7 ð6Þ
4 ... ... . . . 5
@2 sm
. . . @x@ ns@xm n x¼xðkÞ
2
@xn @x1
The solution for the optimum parameters is

obtained if the assumed convergence criterion
xiðk11Þ xiðkÞ pE; i ¼ 1; . . . ; n ð7Þ
is fulfilled.
3. HEATING OPERATION BASED

ON THE GERMAN REGULATION
TRD 301
The German boiler code TRD 301 regulates the
heating and cooling processes of the power blocks.
The TRD 301 procedure allows the allowable rates of
temperature change in the fluid and the permitted
stresses during start-up and shut-down operations to Figure 6. Maximum compressive stress history during the start
be estimated. up process according to TRD 301 regulations.
The start-up operating parameters calculated for
the outlet header are: vT1 ¼ 7:1 K min1 and recorded maximum compressive stress history during
vT2 ¼ 18:85 K min1 , where vT1 and vT2 are the change that process is presented in Figure 6.
rates in the temperature at the beginning and the end of The maximum compressive stresses act in the z-di-
each process, respectively. The highest permitted stress rection and reach their highest value at time t 5 3100 s.
value during the heating operation is sa 5 126.7 MPa. Therefore, these are treated as the critical stresses for
The temperature and pressure change during the heat- the construction. The temperature distribution for time
ing operation is shown in Figure 5. t 5 3100 s is plotted in Figure 7.
Consider a process where the working medium at a The temperature gradient through the wall measured
temperature of 201C floods the inner space of the at points P1 and P2 is over 601C. Figure 8 shows the
outlet header that has a uniform temperature maximum compressive stresses during the start-up
T0 5 201C. Next, the medium temperature changes process.
with the calculated rates of temperature change vT1 and The maximum compressive stresses are located on
vT2 until working parameters of pw 5 29 MPa and the inner surface near the opening edges and their
Tw 5 5591C are reached. During this process, high value reaches 222.4 MPa. The outer surface is sub-
compressive stresses on the inner surface were jected to tensile stresses with a peak of 182.6 MPa. It
observed. They come from the temperature gradient can be seen from the performed numerical analysis that
in the element wall and the internal pressure. The conducting the heating operation for the outlet header
DOI: 10.1002/er
with parameters defined by the German boiler regu-

lations causes high stresses in the structure, much
higher than allowed.
4. APPLICATION OF THE PROPOSED

METHOD
In the previous chapter, the heating operation of the
outlet header, based on the German boiler regulation
TRD 301, was presented. It was shown that, during the
start-up process, the allowable stresses sa 5 126.7
MPa are exceeded (Figure 6). In paper [10], the
numerical procedure based on the LM method was
presented, which allows the optimum medium tem-
Figure 7. Temperature distribution on the inner surface in 1C at perature history to be found, so that the maximum
time t 5 3100 s.
thermal stresses in the whole construction element
would not exceed the allowable stresses. This section
presents a numerical method that is used to optimize
the heating operation in such a manner that the
maximum total stresses remain within the acceptable
limits and the operation is conducted in the shortest
time. For that purpose, four working parameters, Tf1 ,
vT1 , Tf2 , vT2 , using the LM algorithm, were found,
where Tf1 , Tf2 are the step changes in temperature and
vT1 , vT2 denote the temperature change rates.
Consider a hot fluid that has an initial temperature
Tf1 5 64.51C, flooding the inner space of the outlet
header at temperature T0 5 201C. Subsequently, the
fluid is heated-up, with a constant rate of temperature
change of vT1 ¼ 8:1 K min1 . During this process, the
working medium pressure pf changes as a function of
temperature until time t1, when the working pressure
pw 5 28.9 MPa is reached (Figure 9).
Figure 8. Maximum compressive stress sz distribution in MPa
First, a finite element stress analysis for two known
for t 5 3100 s. optimum parameters, Tf1 and vT1 , was performed. It
was proved that, during the heating operation, high
compressive thermal stresses are created on the inner
surface due to the temperature gradients in the wall.
However, the increasing working medium pressure
causes stresses that have the opposite sign to thermal
stresses. Thus, the stresses coming from internal
pressure reduce the magnitude of the thermal stresses.
As a result, the maximum compressive stresses
decrease with the increasing pressure, as shown in
Figure 10.
Since the working medium pressure does not depend
on the temperature after time t1 and there is some
margin between the actual and permitted stress values,
the heating process can be conducted with a higher
temperature change rate. Therefore, two additional
parameters, Tf2 5 4381C and vT2 ¼ 11:4 K min1 , were
introduced, where Tf2 is a second step change of
temperature and vT2 denotes a second rate of
temperature change. The temperature and pressure
Figure 9. Temperature and pressure history for the two history for the four optimum parameters is presented
optimum parameters. in Figure 11.
DOI: 10.1002/er
Figure 10. Maximum compressive stress history during heat-

Figure 13. Temperature distribution on the inner surface in 1C
ing operation based on two optimum parameters.
at time t 5 2800 s.
Figure 11. Temperature and pressure history for the four

optimum parameters. Figure 14. Maximum compressive stress sz distribution on the
inner surface in MPa for t 5 2800 s.
Figure 12 presents the stress history during the start-

up process conducted with the four optimum para-
meters.
The component is heated up by the working medium
from inside, and the temperature distribution for time
t 5 2800 s is depicted in Figure 13.
The highest compressive stresses were recorded in
the z-direction at time t 5 2800 s. The stress con-
centration areas are located at the opening edges on
the inner surface, as plotted in Figure 14.
Maximum tensile stresses are located on the outer
surface with the highest value of 149.6 MPa.
5. CONCLUSIONS
Figure 12. Maximum compressive stress history during the The heating operation and subsequent stress analysis of
start-up process according to the optimization method. the outlet header were presented. It was proved that,
DOI: 10.1002/er
during the heating operation, processed according to the GmbH & Co. KG and Cracow University of
German boiler regulation TRD 301, high compressive Technology.
stresses are formed in the outlet header construction.
These stresses exceed the stress limit sa as specified by the
TRD 301 regulations by about 75%. Next, a new
developed numerical method based on the LM algorithm REFERENCES
was presented. The new method allows the optimum
working parameters for the heating operation to be 1. TRD 301, Technische Regeln für Dampfkessel. Carl
estimated based on the total stress limitation. It was shown Heymans Verlag, Köln und Beuth-Verlag: Berlin,
that the maximum compressive stresses were not exceeded.
1986; 98–138.
The optimum working parameters can guarantee the
2. Duda P, Dwornicka R. Optimization of heating and
extended longevity of the components, which, ipso facto,
makes it possible for them to operate in a cost-effective cooling operations of steam gate valve. Structural
way. The new method is of great practical significance and Multidisciplinary Optimization 2010;
and can be implemented in the industry, wherever the 40:529–535.
heating and cooling processes take place. The techniques 3. Dzierwa P, Taler J. A new method for deter-
used to estimate the optimum parameters are fast and mining allowable medium temperature during
does not require a high financial outlay. The safety heating and cooling of thick walled boiler compo-
regulations for power block devices are obeyed by con- nents. Proceedings of the Congress on Thermal
forming with the TRD 301 regulations. Stresses, Taipei, Taiwan, vol. 2, 4–7 June 2007;
437–440.
4. Dzierwa P, Taler J. A new method for optimum
NOMENCLATURE heating of steam boiler pressure components.
International Journal of Energy Research 2010;
H, J, d 5 matrices
34:20–35.
x 5 vector of searched parameters
k 5 thermal conductivity (W m1 K1) 5. Press WH, Teukolsky SA, Vetterling WT, Flannery
pw 5 working pressure of medium (Mpa) BP. Numerical Recipes in FORTRAN; The Art of
Re 5 yield strength (Mpa) Scientific Computing (3rd edn). Cambridge Univer-
S 5 sum of squares sity Press: Cambridge, 2007.
t 5 time (s) 6. Seber GAF, Wild CJ. Nonlinear Regression. Wiley:
T f0 5 initial temperature of medium (1C) New York, 1989.
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vT 5 rate of medium temperature change und ihre Temperaturabhängigkeit. Mannesmann
(K min1) Forschungberichte 930, Düsseldorf, 1983.
Greek symbols 8. Duda P. Solution of multidimensional inverse heat
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sa 5 allowable stresses (MPa)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
International Congress on Thermal Stresses,
Part of this work was conducted within the confines of Urbana-Champaign, IL, U.S.A., vol. 2, 1–4 June
cooperation between TÜV NORD EnSys Hannover 2009; 399–402.
DOI: 10.1002/er

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1099114x, 2012, 6, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/er.1825 by Indian Institute Of Technology Bombay (Iit-B), Wiley Online Library on [30/01/2023].

Numerical method for determining the allowable

Received 24 April 2010; Revised 20 October 2010; Accepted 27 December 2010

Copyright r 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 703

Figure 3. Thermal properties of X10CrMoVNb9-1 (P91) steel.

is reached. Next, the temperature of the medium

where smax denotes the highest absolute value of the

The unknown parameters of x are denoted as

The solution for the optimum parameters is

3. HEATING OPERATION BASED

with parameters deﬁned by the German boiler regu-

4. APPLICATION OF THE PROPOSED

Figure 10. Maximum compressive stress history during heat-

Figure 11. Temperature and pressure history for the four

Figure 12 presents the stress history during the start-

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