Secure and cost-effective power generation has become very important nowdays. Care must be taken while designing and operating modern steam power plants. There are regulations such as German boiler regulations (Technische Regeln für Dampfkessel 301) or European Standards that guide the user how to operate the steam power plants. However, those regulations are based on the quasi-steady state assumption and one dimensional temperature distribution in the entire element. This simplifications may not guarantee that the heating and cooling operations are conducted in the most efficient way. Thus, it was important to find an improved method that can allow to establish optimum parameters for heating and cooling operations. The optimum parameters should guarantee that the maximum total stresses in the construction element are in the allowable limits and the entire process is conducted in the shortest time. This paper summarizes mathematical descriptions how to optimize shut down process of power block devices. The optimization formulation is based on the assumption that the maximum total stresses in the whole construction element should be kept within allowable limits during cooling operation. Additionally, the operation should be processed in the shortest time possible.

A new method for measurement of local heat flux to water-walls of steam boilers was developed. A flux meter tube was made from an eccentric tube of short length to which two longitudinal fins were attached. These two fins prevent the boiler setting from heating by a thermal radiation from the combustion chamber. The fins are not welded to the adjacent water-wall tubes, so that the temperature distribution in the heat flux meter is not influenced by neighbouring water-wall tubes. The thickness of the heat flux tube wall is larger on the fireside to obtain a greater distance between the thermocouples located inside the wall which increases the accuracy of heat flux determination. Based on the temperature measurements at selected points inside the heat flux meter, the heat flux absorbed by the water-wall, heat transfer coefficient on the inner tube surface and temperature of the water-steam mixture was determined.