On the improvement of steam power plant system reliability

A systematic approach based on the graph theoretical analysis and a graph´s characteristic polynomial is used to develop a model for estimating the reliability index and evaluating the availability index for a coal-fired generating power station. In this study the coal-fired generating station system is divided into six subsystems. Consideration of all the subsystems and their interrelations are rudiment in evaluating the reliability (estimate). The approximate reliability of the coal-fired generating station is modeled in terms of approximate reliability attributes of the graph. Nodes in graph represent sub-system reliability and the reliability of interrelations of these sub-systems is represented by the links. The approximate reliability of the system is determined by computing a graph´s characteristic polynomial using three different methods: the linearly independent cycles, the figure equation and the adjacent matrix. Estimating reliability is always an imperfect endeavor and hence the use of three methods for comparison purposes. The proposed methodology is illustrated step-by-step with the help of examples.