SUPERGEN 2 - Conventional Power Plant Lifetime Extension Consortium

Completed

Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electric power conversion)
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Coal, Coal combustion)
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Oil and gas conversion)
Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Applications for heat and electricity)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (General Engineering and Mineral & Mining Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor RC Thomson
Inst of Polymer Tech and Materials Eng
Loughborough University

Standard

EPSRC

01 July 2004

30 June 2008

48 months

£2,113,068

Energy

East Midlands

Infrastructure and Environment -- Process Environment and Sustainability

Professor RC Thomson, Inst of Polymer Tech and Materials Eng, Loughborough University

Professor A Becker, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Dr G Critchlow, Inst of Polymer Tech and Materials Eng, Loughborough University
Dr B Drinkwater, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol
Professor P Flewitt, Interface Analysis Centre, University of Bristol
Professor FJ Guild, Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London
Dr RL Higginson, Inst of Polymer Tech and Materials Eng, Loughborough University
Professor T Hyde, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Dr IA Jones, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Professor P.H. Mellor, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Bristol
Professor JR Nicholls, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University
Mr JE Oakey, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University
Dr MJ Pavier, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol
Professor PH Shipway, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Dr NJ Simms, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University
Professor D Smith, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol
Dr CE Truman, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol
Dr G.D. Wilcox, Inst of Polymer Tech and Materials Eng, Loughborough University
Dr P Wilcox, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol

Project Contact, Rolls-Royce PLC
Project Contact, National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
Project Contact, Babcock International Group plc
Project Contact, Howmet Ltd
Project Contact, Siemens plc
Project Contact, Chromalloy UK Ltd
Project Contact, Alstom Controls Ltd
Project Contact, QinetiQ Ltd
Project Contact, RWE Innogy
Project Contact, E.ON E&P UK Ltd
Project Contact, Workers Educational Association
Project Contact, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine
Project Contact, Alstom Power Ltd

The worldwide power generation market and its key drivers are changing radically. The industry is being required to meet increasing demands for sustainable energy under the constraints of lower cost, environmental legislations and reduced investment in new plant. This has led to the requirement to extend the lifetime improve the performance and flexibility of existing ageing power plant. This consortium has been brought together under the EPSRC SUPERGEN 2 program to address some of the key technical challenges facing the Power Generation supply industry.The main drivers identified at workshops leading to the submission of the bid which define the research needs are: materials performance; the increasing cost of ageing plant; the loss of UK knowledge base and issues related to fuel plantflexibility. It was also established that the key challenges to industry which should be addressed by the consortium were: Condition/health monitoring; Degradation of Materials Properties; Developingmaterials/microstructural models for life time assessment (including repair) and Improved predictive life assessment tools and validation. The proposed research will therefore be carried out in six workpackages which meet the identified needs of the power generation industry. These are: Condition Monitoring; Environmental Degradation and Protection; Microstructural Degradation; Modelling of Mechanical Behaviour; Component Life Prediction and Networking. The ultimate deliverable of theresearch program to be developed by the consortium will be an integrated suite of lifetime extension tools ,combining the research outcomes of all the selected technical areas

01/01/07