Skip to main content
Skip header

Lifetime management and prediction of service life of technological systems in energy industry

* Exchange students do not have to consider this information when selecting suitable courses for an exchange stay.

Course Unit Code636-3035/01
Number of ECTS Credits Allocated5 ECTS credits
Type of Course Unit *Compulsory
Level of Course Unit *Second Cycle
Year of Study *Second Year
Semester when the Course Unit is deliveredSummer Semester
Mode of DeliveryFace-to-face
Language of InstructionCzech
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites Course succeeds to compulsory courses of previous semester
Name of Lecturer(s)Personal IDName
KUB014Dr. Ing. Zdeněk Kuboň
BYS06doc. Ing. Jaroslav Bystrianský, CSc.
Summary
The course introduces the philosophy used in construction design, the interpretation of processes that cause changes in material properties during long-term operation, and a description of major degradation mechanisms leading in the end to the loss of structural integrity. The course explains the basic methods of management and control of these processes. Knowledge of the nature and causes of changes in material properties allows students to understand the mutual interrelationships between the material, its properties and the safety of the components made from it. Evaluation methods and their application in case of damage or failure analyses of selected equipment are demonstrated and explained on case studies.
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
Students will gain knowledge about the influence of long-term operation of a power plant equipment on the properties of structural materials, will be able to define the principal degradation processes and their influence on material properties. They will be able to define the risks of sudden brittle fracture, fatigue fracture, fracture due to creep and combined corrosion mechanical damage in individual structures. They will be able to characterize the possibilities of extending the lifetime of technological systems in the energy industry.
Course Contents
1) Mechanical properties of materials and methods of their evaluation.
2) Basic concept of design (safe-life, damage tolerance) and consequences of their change.
3) Definition of ageing and controlled ageing of materials and structures. Controlled ageing of structural components.
4) Mechanisms of ageing of materials. Thermal and deformation ageing.
5) Degradation mechanisms of structural materials.
6) Fatigue of materials. New methods for assessing fatigue characteristics of structural materials and standardized procedures for their evaluation.
7) Brittle fracture of components. Factors influencing the embrittlement of structural materials. New methods for assessment of resistance of structural materials against brittle fracture. Safety of the construction against frail fracture.
8) Radiation embrittlement and damage. Evaluation methods of radiation damage of metallic materials.
9) Creep of metals and alloys. Requirements for materials working in the creep conditions. Methods of component ageing in coal fired power plants.
10) Corrosion damage of structural materials. Methods of evaluation of corrosion damage. Residual life assessment methods based on evaluation of corrosion damage.
11) Methods of controlled ageing of components working in coal-fired power plants. Residual life assessment methods of components working at elevated temperatures.
12) Methods of controlled ageing of the critical components in nuclear power plants.
13) Examples of the use of controlled ageing in industrial practice.
Recommended or Required Reading
Required Reading:
MATOCHA, K. Design of constructional components and their controlled ageing. Ostrava: VŠB –TU Ostrava, 2015.
MATOCHA, K. Design konstrukčních částí a jejich řízené stárnutí. Ostrava: VŠB – TU Ostrava, 2013.
STRNADEL, B. Nauka o materiálu II. Degradační procesy a design konstrukčních materiálů. Ostrava: VŠB – TU Ostrava, 2008. ISBN 978-80-248-1842-9.
CHUDNOVSKY, B. H. Transmission, distribution and renewable energy generation power equipment – Aging and life extension techniques. 2nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2017. ISBN 978-1-4987-5475-0.
TIPPING, P. G. Understanding and mitigating ageing in nuclear power plants – Materials and operational aspects of plant life management. Philadelphia: Woodhead Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978-1-84569-511-8.
Recommended Reading:
Methodology for the Management of Ageing of Nuclear Power Plant Components Important to Safety. Technical reports, Series No. 338. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency, 1992. ISBN 92-0-102592-0.
VLK, M. a Z. FLORIAN. Mezní stavy a spolehlivost. Brno: VÚT Brno, Fakulta strojního inženýrství, 2007.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Lectures, Seminars, Tutorials, Experimental work in labs
Assesment methods and criteria
Task TitleTask TypeMaximum Number of Points
(Act. for Subtasks)
Minimum Number of Points for Task Passing
Credit and ExaminationCredit and Examination100 (100)51
        CreditCredit35 21
        ExaminationExamination65 30