Title: Boiler life state analysis based on energy flow model and multi-dimensional judgment

Journal: Measurement

Abstract: Life-state assessment of boilers in long-term operation is crucial for operating condition monitoring, equipment safety control, and operations management. However, this assessment faces multiple challenges: imbalance between qualitative and quantitative data, diverse boiler states, and external environmental interference, which make accurate evaluation of the overall life state difficult. To solve this problem, a method of energy flow analysis is proposed, which performs data fusion analysis from the perspective of energy change and conservation to give a multidimensional index for evaluating the life state. Its core innovation lies in conducting data fusion analysis from the perspective of energy change and conservation, and constructing a multidimensional index system for life assessment. Specifically, the method first analyzes the working modes and basic structures of boilers to determine the types and directions of energy flow. Then it performs energy numerical calculations through spatio-temporal logical reasoning and degradation mechanisms. Finally, it optimizes the flow model by combining the law of conservation of energy, establishing a three-dimensional energy flow model (EFM) including position, time, and energy. By analyzing the EFM from multiple angles, the system state is determined based on multi-state numerical evaluation, and the model’s validity is verified using a long-term operating drum as the research object. As a basic analytical model, this method provides new evaluation metrics for boiler life assessment, effectively solving the problems of low accuracy and limited model generalization in boiler state classification, overall maintenance plan optimization, and repair-related prediction tasks.

doi: 10.1016/j.measurement.2026.121136