Calculating, designing, and applying a fire protection and firefighting system requires the designer to have deep and broad expertise in the fire protection field, not merely in mechanical or electrical/control engineering alone. The quality of the system greatly affects the safety of both people and property in the event of a fire, so integrating the equipment in a fire protection and firefighting system requires a highly skilled and experienced technical team. Although some domestic companies have implemented integration of fire protection and firefighting systems, all have only reached the level of purchasing equipment for integration; no unit has invested in in-depth research on the system, and there is no set of standard documents for calculating and designing a complete fire protection and firefighting system for thermal power plants.

To Self-Reliance in Design and Manufacture of Equipment for Thermal Power Plants

According to the VII Power Development Master Plan approved by the Prime Minister under Decision No. 1208/QD-TTg dated July 21, 2011, over 50 coal-fired thermal power plants will be invested in and constructed in the period 2011-2030, with a total capital of about 100 billion USD (of which investment in construction and equipment is about 60-70 billion USD). This is a great opportunity for the development of auxiliary mechanical industries in general, and thermal power manufacturing machinery in particular. To achieve self-reliance in the design and manufacture of thermal power equipment, reduce investment costs, and avoid dependence on foreign contractors, the Prime Minister also issued Decision No. 1791/QD-TTg dated November 29, 2012 on “Approval of the mechanism for pilot implementation of domestic design and manufacture of equipment for thermal power plants in the period 2012-2025” (Decision 1791).

Implementing Decision 1791, based on proposals from enterprises, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved for several domestic mechanical enterprises to carry out the Science and Technology Project “Research on mastering the technology of design, manufacture, and commissioning of some auxiliary equipment systems for coal-fired thermal power plants with capacity up to 600 MW” from 2015-2022, comprising 12 tasks as component projects/assignments to support enterprises in researching or receiving technology transfer to master the design and manufacture of the aforementioned equipment. Accordingly, NARIME was assigned to implement the project “Research, design, manufacture, and integration of fire protection and firefighting systems for coal-fired thermal power plants with unit capacity up to about 600 MW”.

Based on the practical domestic situation and experience in integrating synchronous equipment systems over 60 years of construction and development, the scientists of NARIME have adopted a creative approach to receive technology transfer, research, design, and successfully manufacture the fire protection and firefighting system for coal-fired thermal power plants in Vietnam.

After more than 5 years of implementation, NARIME scientists have: 1) Mastered the design, manufacture, integration, installation, and operation of fire protection and firefighting systems for coal-fired thermal power plants with unit capacity up to about 600 MW. 2) Enhanced the scientific, technical, and technological level, management, consulting, operation, etc., for the domestic S&T workforce. 3) Successfully integrated and installed automatic fire detection and automatic fire suppression systems for the entire thermal power plant: administrative building, boiler area, turbine area, electrostatic precipitator area, FGD desulfurization area, ash and slag disposal area, coal supply area, water treatment area, substation and switchyard, etc. The systems have been accepted, put into operation, and received very high evaluation from the investors.

Computer control screen of the fire protection and firefighting system.

NARIME experts conducting acceptance testing and trial operation of the system.

Conclusion

With the successful implementation of the aforementioned project, for the first time NARIME has researched, designed, manufactured, integrated, and successfully commissioned a fire protection and firefighting system for a coal-fired thermal power plant with unit capacity up to 600 MW, contributing to increasing the localization rate and reducing product costs. Notably, the fire protection and firefighting system was designed and manufactured in accordance with international standards, meeting high requirements. Currently, this system is being applied very effectively at Song Hau 1 Thermal Power Plant. This plant has an installed capacity of 1,200 MW, consisting of 2 units, using supercritical pulverized coal-fired boiler technology with direct-flow, direct firing, single reheat, employing low-NOx burner technology; a conventional condensing steam turbine with single reheat, feedwater heating extraction, and supercritical inlet steam parameters. When both units are operational, the plant will supply about 7.8 billion kWh per year to the national grid, contributing to national energy security and the economic development of the Mekong Delta region in general and Hau Giang province in particular.

Following the success in implementing the localization program for the fire protection and firefighting system at Song Hau 1 Thermal Power Plant, NARIME is making strong and comprehensive investments in research on localization and mastering the localization of equipment systems not only for thermal power plants to be built in the future but also in research and upgrading systems for plants already in operation.

Source: Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology