Computational Modeling and Assessment Of Nanocoatings for Ultra Supercritical Boilers

Coal-fired power plants are a significant part of the nation’s power generating capacity, currently accounting for more than 55% of the country’s total electricity production. Extending the reliable lifetimes of fossil fired boiler components and reducing the maintenance costs are essential for economic operation of power plants. Corrosion and erosion are leading causes of superheater and reheater boiler tube failures leading to unscheduled costly outages. Several types of coatings and weld overlays have been used to extend the service life of boiler tubes; however, the protection afforded by such materials was limited approximately one to eight years. Power companies are more recently focused in achieving greater plant efficiency by increasing steam temperature and pressure into the advanced-ultrasupercritical (A-USC) condition with steam temperatures approaching 760°C (1400°F) and operating pressures in excess of 35MPa (5075 psig). Unfortunately, laboratory and field testing suggests that the resultant fireside environment when operating under A-USC conditions can potentially cause significant corrosion to conventional and advanced boiler materials1-2. In order to improve reliability and availability of fossil fired A-USC boilers, it is essential to develop advanced nanostructured coatings that provide excellent corrosion and erosion resistance without adversely affecting the other properties such as toughness and thermal fatigue strength of the component material