Over more than 10 years of implementing National-level Science and Technology (S&T) Projects under the guidance of Circular No. 11/2013/TT-BKHCN dated March 29, 2013, now replaced by Circular No. 18/2016/TT-BKHCN dated September 1, 2016, the National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (NARIME) has participated in many S&T projects, including two S&T projects that the Institute chaired: "Completion of design and manufacturing technology, trial manufacturing of electrostatic precipitator with capacity of 1,000,000 Nm3/h" and "Research on design, manufacturing, and commissioning of some auxiliary equipment systems with a capacity of about 600 MW per unit."

Implementation status of assigned S&T Project, achieved results, difficulties and obstacles during implementation

 S&T Project: Completion of design and manufacturing technology, trial manufacturing of electrostatic precipitator with capacity of 1,000,000 Nm3/h.

Project implementation status

The project implementation period was from 2012 to 2018, with the objective of mastering the design and manufacturing of electrostatic precipitator (ESP) equipment. The project completed the following main contents:

– Completed the design dossier for manufacturing ESP with capacity of 1,000,000 Nm3/h.

– Completed the technological process for manufacturing, installation, trial run, and acceptance of ESP with capacity of 1,000,000 Nm3/h.

– Developed measures to ensure the quality of domestically manufactured ESP products equivalent to European standards.

– Invested in new equipment lines to manufacture main ESP components, including a specialized rolling machine for combined forming, cutting, and punching of collecting plate processing, flatness measuring device for collecting plates, instantaneous acceleration measuring device, and ultrasonic sealing measuring device.

– Manufactured test rigs and various jigs for machining main equipment items of the precipitator: jigs for machining discharge frame and hammer forging dies were completed in 2014; test rigs for aerodynamic model and test rigs for collecting electrodes and discharge electrodes.

– Manufactured, installed, trial ran, and put into use the ESP for the application project.

According to the registered project outline, the research results were expected to be applied to the Quynh Lap 1, Long Phu 1, and Quang Trach 1 projects. However, these projects were all delayed for various reasons. NARIME proactively bid and won the contract to supply electrostatic precipitator equipment for the Thai Binh 1 thermal power plant, which is the application site for the trial production project. According to the signed contract, NARIME will supply 02 ESPs, each with a capacity of 1,067,180 Nm³/h, for the Thai Binh 1 thermal power plant. The contract implementation period is from 2015 to 2018. Currently, the work is being carried out to meet the progress and quality requirements of the Investor.

Achieved results

– Developed a set of design dossiers for ESP with capacity of 1,000,000 Nm³/h, suitable for application in thermal power plants from 300 MW to 600 MW. This design dossier also serves as a fundamental basis sufficient for application to ESP design in other projects of any capacity.

– Utilized software tools for calculation and design work, such as: Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis 2012 software for strength checking of the structural parts of the electrostatic precipitator; SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation software for calculation and analysis of aerodynamic flow regime in the filter chamber, serving to combine with experimental results on physical models to make design decisions for the gas distribution section of the electrostatic precipitator; SolidWorks and Ansys software for strength checking and fatigue life calculation of main components of collecting electrodes and rapping hammer sets. 

– From S&T resources, the following were built and equipped:

+ A test rig for aerodynamic flow regime in the filter chamber, directly serving testing and evaluation before final design decisions.

+ A test rig for quality of collecting electrodes, discharge electrodes, and rapping hammer sets of actual products supplied to the application project.

 + Equipped with some specialized measuring and testing devices: ultrasonic leak testing device for checking the sealing quality of the filter chamber after installation, instantaneous acceleration measuring device for checking the design and manufacturing quality of collecting and discharge electrodes, flatness measuring device for checking the manufacturing quality of collecting electrode plates. 

– From S&T resources combined with resources from the economic contract of the application project, the following were equipped: workshop and production equipment for some important ESP components: production line for collecting electrode plates, production line for discharge electrode barbed rods, and some molds for manufacturing hammer parts of the rapping system.

Assessment of project effectiveness

– S&T effectiveness: The National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering has basically mastered the design and manufacturing of the ESP system with a localization rate of 80% and competitive cost. The project contributed to forming a team of S&T personnel on ESP, capable of researching, designing, manufacturing, and commissioning ESP systems meeting European and G7 standards. The project's test equipment not only serves design and product quality inspection but is also used directly for doctoral training in the ESP field.

– Economic effectiveness: After the Institute successfully designed and manufactured the ESP system, the bid prices of foreign contractors for this product in thermal power projects decreased by about 15% compared to before domestic capability was achieved, thereby contributing to reducing project investment costs. 

– Social effectiveness: Each ESP equipment for a thermal power plant project with a unit of about 600 MW has a total weight of about 4,500 tons of equipment, creating jobs and stable income for at least 200 workers. Thus, if only 1/3 of the thermal power plants (about 20) under Power Master Plan VII have ESP systems designed and manufactured in Vietnam, it will create at least 2,000 jobs, contributing to stability and income balance for workers.   

Difficulties and obstacles during implementation

The current approach to implementing S&T projects is to apply S&T results directly to actual projects. This approach encountered the following difficulties: normally, new investment projects implemented through bidding or competitive quotation often require participating suppliers to have experience in implementing the registered item in a similar completed project. This is a barrier for S&T projects applying results for the first time. To overcome this barrier, the only way is to form a joint venture or association with a foreign supplier capable in the project's issues. Getting foreign partners to accept a joint venture or association is a difficult task; additionally, the scope of work must always be shared, which may include contents of the S&T project that, although feasible with domestic capability, may still not be allowed to supply. Therefore, to complete the task, all registered contents of the S&T project must be applied in parts across different application projects.

S&T Project: Research, design, manufacturing, and commissioning of some auxiliary equipment systems for coal-fired thermal power plants with unit capacity up to about 600 MW.

Project implementation status

The project implementation period is from 2015 to 2022, with the objective of mastering the design, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning of some auxiliary equipment systems for coal-fired thermal power plants with unit capacity up to about 600 MW under Decision No. 1791/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister. To achieve this objective, the project simultaneously implemented the following main contents: Research, design, manufacturing, and commissioning of 11 auxiliary equipment systems: Coal supply system, Desulfurization system, Ash and slag disposal system, Oil supply system, Flue gas exhaust system, Water and wastewater treatment system, Circulating cooling water system, Hydrogen production system, Main distribution station and transformers, Fire protection and firefighting system, and a task to develop solutions, regulations, and management and organization procedures for implementing thermal power plant projects under the 1791 mechanism.

Difficulties and obstacles

– As this is the first time designing and manufacturing a large, synchronous system for a thermal power plant, support from foreign contractors is needed in basic and detailed design and quality management of equipment. These are the tasks where variations often occur during implementation, requiring a large contingency budget.

– Some administrative procedures are still cumbersome, and some regulations are not yet available (norms, unit prices for hiring foreign experts for S&T projects), leading to the need to seek opinions from competent authorities before implementation, which may cause a phase mismatch in disbursement between the main contract and the S&T project.

– The time to complete approval of an S&T project is still long, with many cumbersome procedures, leading to a phase mismatch between the S&T project and the main production project.

– Fund allocation needs to be carried out promptly according to the schedule proposed by the enterprise.

– The application of project research results still faces many difficulties due to: difficulties in arranging capital and changes in the application mechanism for thermal power projects, as the Government has allowed a shift to special mechanisms and policies under Decision No. 2414/QD-TTg.  

Proposals and recommendations

To achieve high effectiveness of S&T projects and meet the initial objectives, the National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering would like to make the following recommendations:

Regarding scientific issues and technology development contents that need to be considered for implementation:

For the ESP system, research to obtain a dataset on the influence of each type of ash and slag from fuel coal is necessary and requires time to accumulate through many specific projects. Therefore, we recommend that the State continue to support funding for this work.

Regarding State support policies and mechanisms

– For feasible S&T projects that achieve results, the State should apply the form of direct assignment, with regulations requiring Investors to accept and apply the results. Only then, after the first 2 to 3 projects are applied, will the S&T project implementing units have a basis of capacity and experience to participate in bidding. 

– The State should consider and support S&T project implementing units when S&T results are applied to BOT projects by reducing taxes to zero.

Regarding removing difficulties and obstacles during organization and implementation

– Administrative procedures in S&T projects need to be simplified. The time from registration to approval of an S&T project with sufficient conditions for implementation should be specifically regulated to not exceed 3 months to minimize phase mismatch during the implementation of the S&T project and the production project.

– In cases where the S&T project meets all conditions for disbursement but funds have not been allocated, to avoid affecting the progress of the production contract, we recommend allowing the enterprise to advance payment using its own funds, with the State budget reimbursing later.

– Regarding salary costs for foreign experts implementing the project: Since the State support portion usually accounts for a small share of the total expert costs in the contract, we recommend approving this portion as a lump sum to avoid other administrative procedures that affect the overall project progress.