Coal Power Plant Simulation | Optimize Performance & Reduce Downtime

Enhance efficiency, reduce emissions, and extend equipment life, all without costly trial-and-error adjustments. Advanced simulation tools and expert consulting provide your team the insight needed to optimize performance while minimizing downtime and regulatory risks.

Coal Power Plant Simulation: Enhancing Efficiency and Reliability

Global energy demands continue to evolve, and coal-fired power plants must balance efficiency, emissions control, and operational reliability to remain competitive. Traditional trial-and-error design methods are costly, time-consuming, and can often lead to additional unplanned downtime. Simulation-driven engineering can provide a proactive solution that offers coal plant operators a way to optimize system performance, improve combustion efficiencies, and reduce pollutant formation before any physical system modifications are even made.

Using Ansys FEA and CFD simulation software, SimuTech Group helps engineers model and analyze critical coal plant components, from burners and furnaces to SCR systems and sulfur dioxide scrubbers. By predicting thermal loads, fluid flow behaviors, and structural integrity, simulation helps to ensure that power plants operate safely, efficiently, and in compliance with environmental regulations.

Coal Power Generation Energy Simulation Applications

Design Element	Challenges	Simulation Benefits
Pulverizers and Classifiers	Control product fineness for low carbon loss, minimal NOx Balance competing forces of mill Efficiency Throughput Power consumption	Reduce design time by: Understanding flow patterns to improve design Predicting performance and erosion behavior for varying designs Predicting dynamic behavior, stress, strain for rotating parts
Burners	NOx reduction Unburned carbon (LOI) Fatigue and creep from thermal stresses in coal nozzle	Reduce design effort and field tests by: Predicting temperature, NOx, and LOI with varying fuel, load, swirl Predicting thermal loads and stresses for different designs
Furnaces	Maintaining stable flame under varying load conditions Pollutant formation control Maintaining proper radiation and convection properties with retrofitted low NOx burners Optimizing retrofitted air staging Minimizing water wall corrosion Designing optimal spray system for Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR)	Ensuring retrofit success by predicting: Flame shape and thermal loads Impact of various air staging methods Corrosion prone regions SNCR local NOx reduction Avoiding further downtime in a trial-and-error approach
Fluidized Beds	Erosion Maximizing gas-solid contact Avoiding channeling Maximizing heat transfer to immersed tubes Creep and fatigue due to thermal stresses	Avoid costly problems after manufacture by predicting: Erosion in virtual prototypes Channeling problems Thermal stresses Optimize heat transfer
Gasification	Ensuring complete reaction Varying fuels, loads Thermal stresses and heat transfer Carbon capture	Impact of inlet positions and flow rates on performance Impact of fuel changes Calculate and design for scale-up effects
Economizers	Minimizing erosion and fly-ash buildup Optimizing heat transfer to incoming water	Determine areas of likely erosion and fly-ash buildup early in design phase Make flow distribution modifications that will resolve problems before manufacture
Flue Ducts	Uneven flow distribution impacting pollution control equipment performance Air leakage Sagging and deformation	Optimize vanes and turns for flow distribution prior to manufacturing Ensure deformations will be within limits by testing/optimizing design specs
Selective Catalytic Reduction Systems	Poor ammonia/NOx mixing Ammonia slip Hopper fly ash capture efficiency Plugged catalysts Thermal stresses within catalyst beds	Retrofit to improve poorly performing existing SCR units without resorting to a trial-and-error approach with physical prototypes. Predict: Ammonia spray distribution, evaporation, and mixing Flow distribution into the catalyst beds Local NOx concentrations Overall system performance Ash and particulate distribution, and hopper performance Thermal stresses Reduce the design cost and increase the performance of new SCR designs
Sulfur Dioxide Scrubbers	Poor distribution of spray and/or flue gas Designing spray nozzle placement	Improve retrofit and new scrubber performance by using virtual prototyping, predicting: Air and spray droplet flow distribution throughout the scrubber Local sulfur absoprtion and concentration Droplet-wall interaction
Particulate Control	Short life of systems and components High cleaning frequency Often caused by: Uneven flow distribution Uneven loading of baghouses, filters, and electrostatic precipitators	Determine expected loadings prior to field implementation Determine stresses on components Use results to optimize ducts and turning vanes Fewer shutdowns Shorter cleaning frequencies Longer bag and plate life

Other Energy Industry Applications

Nuclear

Simulation enables nuclear engineers to optimize performance, ensure safety, and meet regulatory standards in systems and facility design with SimuTech Group’s expert consulting and support.

Renewable & Alternative

Optimize renewable and alternative power systems while solving engineering challenges in solar, wind, hydro & more through simulation.

Natural Gas

Enhance natural gas power plant performance with simulation. Optimize compressors, turbines, combustors, and cooling systems for efficiency, stability, and emissions control.

Enhance Your Coal Energy Systems with Simulation

Maximize the efficiency and longevity of coal-fired power systems with advanced FEA, CFD, and multiphysics simulation. SimuTech Group helps engineers optimize combustion, emissions control, and plant performance while meeting evolving regulatory demands.