Thermal Power Plant Control and Instrumentation

Thermal Power Plant Control and Instrumentation describes the systems and equipment used for measuring and controlling boilers and heat-recovery steam-generators used in land and marine power plant and in process industries. It provides a practical guide to the design, installation, operation and maintenance of these systems. Starting with descriptions of how each area of the plant operates, it shows how the relevant control systems have evolved, how they are implemented in modern systems and how to evaluate the merits of alternative approaches.

The rise of renewable power in the generation mix, and of biomass in the fuel, has demanded greater flexibility from combustion plants, requiring more sophisticated and robust control. In parallel, thermal power plants have been developed with overfire air systems to reduce NOx, once-through supercritical boilers to increase efficiency and model-based control schemes to optimise response. These developments have brought opportunities in terms of flexibility, energy efficiency and safety, but also the risk of a comprehension gap between control specialists and power plant engineers, a gap this new edition aims to bridge.

David Lindsley is a well-known consultant, providing engineering services to power and water companies worldwide. In a forty-year career as a systems engineer and later Director of Engineering for Bailey Meters and Controls he worked on projects in China, Japan, India, Africa, Europe and the USA. He is a Fellow of the IET and has an Honorary Fellowship at Kingston University.

John Grist was a control and instrumentation expert at Doosan Babcock. He spent over 20 years with Doosan Babcock working on 600MW coal-fired boilers in China. He oversaw technology transfer of Benson control technology to Harbin Boiler Company and Doosan Heavy Industries. Prior to that, he worked for Bailey Meters and Controls, spent seven years with WS Atkins.

Don Parker is Principal Engineer at Provecta Process Automation Pty Ltd. in Australia. He has worked as a professional in power plant control systems engineering for over 35 years, and has provided specialist control engineering services to power generators throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and in the UK and the USA. Don is currently the President of the US branch, Provecta Process Automation LLC, based in Chicago.