On 12th May 2014 the pressure casing of a boiler circulating pump (BCP) in the hard coal-fired supercritical power station Staudinger, unit 5, failed which led to considerable damage in the power plant [1/1]. As is customary following such severe damage events, the topic was discussed by VGB PowerTech e. V. (VGB) – as the competent international association of power plant operators – who took up the topic, coordinated it and dealt with it within the scope of its responsibility.

As a prompt reaction to the damage event, VGB distributed first information in the form of a newsletter in mid-June 2014, and in mid-July 2014 a concrete, detailed member information to the member companies. The main task of VGB was primarily the coordination of measures on the plant operators side and the provision of information. For this purpose, the working group (WG) “Boiler Circulation Systems” was installed. In addition to power plant operators and the manufacturer of the damaged BCP, members of this working group were or are NDT companies for the nondestructive testing of the affected components as well as representatives of the accepted inspection body (ZÜS) in accordance with the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV).

The primary objective of the WG and the affiliated ad-hoc working groups was to avoid future damage events – such as the one that occurred on 12th May 2014 – to the best possible extent. The present document therefore describes the main lessons learned in the ad-hoc WG meetings in individual sections.