Authors: FA-SHIAN CHANG; JINGZHE, YAN; YI-CHENG, TSAI; JUN-XIANG, WU; TSENG, WEI-CHENG
Company/Institution: Cheng Shiu University & CTCI Corporation, Taiwan
Country: Taiwan
e-mail: eddie@wiipa.org.tw
web: https://www.wiipa.org.tw/
The waste heat recovery from a factory can be used to generate electricity via superheater tubes. Due to the multi-layer arrangement of the tubes and the limited spacing between them, during routine maintenance, measurement personnel are unable to measure the thickness of the tubes in deeper layers (such as grinding, polishing, applying coupling agents, and measuring). As a result, the remaining thickness of the tubes in the deep sections of the superheater cannot be determined. Typically, the remaining lifespan is estimated based on past experience. However, if there are significant deviations in boiler operating conditions or the nature of the incoming waste, it may accelerate the corrosion rate of the tubes. If the tubes become excessively thin, their strength may be insufficient to withstand high-pressure steam, leading to tube rupture and a shutdown incident. This not only results in reduced revenue from waste treatment and power generation but also involves expensive and hazardous repair work in a boiler that has not fully cooled down. Therefore, there is a need to develop specialized measurement tools for thickness measurement in deep tube sections to minimize such occurrences.
This invention can be applied to waste incineration plants or factories with superheater tube banks and can also be marketed for thickness measurement services in other fields with similar measurement constraints.