Ultra supercritical thermal power plant material advancements: A review

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive review of the advancement and material development for advanced ultra-supercritical thermal power plant technology applications. The development of these alloys is of high interest to the power generation industries. Adopting supercritical and ultra-supercritical power plants with increased steam parameters significantly improve efficiency, reducing fuel consumption and the emission of environmentally damaging gases. Materials development for the A-USC power plant with steam temperatures of 700 °C and above has been performed in order to achieve high efficiency and low CO2 emissions. With the idea of boiler components materials selection for Ultra supercritical steam parameters are in focus. The history of material advancement for thermal power generation has been summarized. Selection and design criteria for heating surfaces area in boiler components have been outlined. The relationship between creep strength at different operating temperatures has been illustrated. The literature shows insight into the material development for boiler pressure parts components and the ability to withstand the ultra-supercritical parameters during their service life. The paper also indicates microstructure stability for an alloy for long-term service life in conditions like high temperature and pressure. Recent and influential papers have been summarized, with the key findings outlined; also the type of alloy/s being used in boiler design has been headlined for ease of navigation, out of available alloys which are under development and to be ready to fabricate the boiler components.