LAUSR

Abstract In a coal-fired power plant, locating the leak area during boiler hot-state operation has practical engineering value, has apart from its significance in proper shutdown procedures, repair-time reduction, and reduction of financial losses. In this study, we adopted a three-dimensional space location algorithm based on acoustic array to determine the location of water-cooling wall tube leaks in real time. We used a spherical interpolation algorithm to solve the location problem and adopted a time delay estimation based on SWITCH function to obtain the time of arrival. An acoustic location test platform was constructed for studying location accuracy in different location condition. Finally, a field study was performed to verify the spherical interpolation algorithm’s feasibility and practicability in a boiler. Results show that the proposed three-dimensional, eight-element array can locate the leak area during boiler hot-state operation.