This paper presents a case history of upgrading a series of boiler feed pumps (BFP) in a UK 2000 MW coal fired power station where life cycle costs (LCC) were used to justify capital investment. In light of the deregulation of the UK electricity industry, power stations needed to become flexible in generating load and operating times, with numerous start/stops and part-load operation becoming the norm. At Fiddlers Ferry a coal-fired power station commissioned in the 1960's, the fundamental design of a 12,000 kW (BFP) and aging associated ancillary equipment, led to significant reliability problems when faced with these new operating demands. Moreover the power station had been given a finite life and the associated reduction in maintenance spend further aggravated the situation. However with the increasing cost of gas, and relatively low price of coal, older fossil fired power stations became more economical to run. Faced with this situation Flowserve worked with the customer to understand the root causes of the pump and system problems. Flowserve proposed an upgrade solution, used LCC to calculate the reduced maintenance and operating cost on a return on investment (ROI) basis. The increased reliability/availability is expected to significantly increase the pumps' mean time between overhaul (MTBO) to 70,000 hrs (eight years). The first of the upgraded pumps is now installed, operating very satisfactorily and assisting in the generation of 25e MW more than with the original BFP.
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