Design of Fire Risk Estimation Method Based on Facility Data for Thermal Power Plants

SIMPLE SUMMARY: We provide a data classification and analysis method to estimate fire risk using facility data for thermal power plants. Experimental analysis is conducted on the data classified by the proposed method for 500 megawatt (MW) and 100 MW thermal power plants. ABSTRACT: In this paper, we propose a data classification and analysis method to estimate fire risk using facility data of thermal power plants. To estimate fire risk based on facility data, we divided facilities into three states—Steady, Transient, and Anomaly—categorized by their purposes and operational conditions. This method is designed to satisfy three requirements of fire protection systems for thermal power plants. For example, areas with fire risk must be identified, and fire risks should be classified and integrated into existing systems. We classified thermal power plants into turbine, boiler, and indoor coal shed zones. Each zone was subdivided into small pieces of equipment. The turbine, generator, oil-related equipment, hydrogen (H2), and boiler feed pump (BFP) were selected for the turbine zone, while the pulverizer and ignition oil were chosen for the boiler zone. We selected fire-related tags from Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data and acquired sample data during a specific period for two thermal power plants based on inspection of fire and explosion scenarios in thermal power plants over many years. We focused on crucial fire cases such as pool fires, 3D fires, and jet fires and organized three fire hazard levels for each zone. Experimental analysis was conducted with these data set by the proposed method for 500 MW and 100 MW thermal power plants. The data classification and analysis methods presented in this paper can provide indirect experience for data analysts who do not have domain knowledge about power plant fires and can also offer good inspiration for data analysts who need to understand power plant facilities.