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| Remlife demonstration |
Australia’s demand for electricity is skyrocketing while the country’s power infrastructure ages. But a new software program developed by ANSTO’s materials engineering specialists is aiming to help coal-fired power stations improve their efficiency and sustain a reliable output.
The software, ‘Remlife’ is already in use by several power companies across Australia to gauge the wear and tear of plant infrastructure.
The majority of Australia’s coal-fired power stations are several decades old. With no new power stations coming online in the near future, the question remains how existing stations will cope with the added pressure of rising demand. But this latest software means power stations can generate electricity more reliably, according to Dr Warwick Payten who headed up the development of the Remlife software.
“The software calculates the damage a power plantsustains during its operating cycle which allows prediction of how much longer plants can operate safely,” Warwick explained.
“Materials that are subjected to high temperatures undergo changes that limit their operating life. These processes technically called creep and fatigue compromised the integrity of the material over time which limits the life of the power station. Remlife analyses ensure that the ageing infrastructure that we’ve got can keep operating safely as long as possible, potentially deferring replacement plant investment in some cases,” he said.
“If plant operators better manage their operating profiles and more accurately identify areas that need pro-active maintenance, then you have the capacity to increase the life of the station and boost the efficiency of the unit. This limits operating costs by getting things up and running a lot quicker,” he added.
The Remlife software is based on a simple, yet elegant and powerful model. Unlike other programs used in Australia and internationally, it enables a quick and cost-effective way for power station operators to target the most pressing problems with equipment.
“There hasn’t been any software in the market that allows you to do a screening process that is fast and enables you to get the results out quickly,” Warwick said. “The Remlife program means that, rather than spending a week to assess a single component within the power plant, we can now carry out that assessment in minutes.”
Current power stations using the Remlife software include: Eraring, New South Wales (NSW); Wallerawang, NSW; Kwinana, Western Australia (WA); Muja, WA; Stanwell , Queensland (Qld); Tarong North, Qld; Gladstone, Qld; Loy Yang A Victoria (Vic); Loy Yang B, Vic; and Torrens Island, South Australia (SA).
Published: 22/06/2011