Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler
A global energy provider leveraged deep data insights to avoid catastrophic tube failures in two circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers.
Challenges
- Erosion, notably bed ash erosion, is a significant challenge for CFB boilers
- Tube wastage needs to be addressed before a failure occurs to avoid forced outages
- The plant was aware of bed ash erosion being present in two boilers, but it didn’t have a clear picture of the severity or locations
Solutions
- Full-coverage RUG inspection using TOKA® 4 robotic inspection platform
- Gecko's data software platform
Results
- Full-coverage inspection completed in three shifts per boiler
- Minimal or dedicated company resources required
- More than 32 million UT data readings obtained between the two boilers
- Intuitive 2D and 3D maps displayed patterns of erosion in the boiler
- Data identified precise locations where tubes needed to be replaced or repaired, safely extending the life of the asset
