The article outlines the technology of managing electric and thermal power-engineering facilities using intelligent cyberphysical systems, implemented by remote monitoring of operated facilities and based on the ability to assess the technical condition of each equipment item (introducing risk-oriented management based on digital technologies). The technology includes coupled digital solutions that allow to quickly assess and predict the condition of the power system by comparing individual assessment data of the technical condition of the main technological equipment of electric and thermal power-engineering facilities with digital counterparts of technological processes, physical systems, objects and products for the implementation of integrated risk-oriented asset management system (AMS). The analysis identifies indicators characterizing the solution to the problem of finding optimized values under fuzzy conditions and limitations, with an integral indicator of equipment (equipment group) determined by the minimum value with respect to assessing the technical condition of each item of equipment in a single unified digital network model. Based on the introduction of a virtual model for tracking the equipment life cycle, integrated with adaptive shells of applied digital business services, the management of both technological and economic business processes is being built to switch from planned preventive repair of equipment of electric and power-engineering facilities to state-based repair.

Matters are considered of standardization of digital simulator systems for ensuring reliability of service of various power engineering facilities. Definitions are given to such terms as reliability, functioning conditions anf safety.

Industry-specific reference normative documents are presented regulating requirements to technical means for training power engineering personnel. Mandatory minimum requirements and criteria are presented to simulators of operating personnel of power generation enterprises according to the rates established. Existing regulatory technical documents and regulations on requirements to simulators of operating personnel are presented in an overview. Particular emphasis is put on creating technical specifications for certification of applied software tools of simulators of thermal power plants and networks, including compliance with requirements to identification characteristics of software tools, to functional characteristics, to data processing functions, as well as to compatibility and safety, and to user interface.

Of considerable importance is the method of evaluation of the simulator, especially with consideration of today’s information technology requirements. The current state of most of developments in Russia’s simulator-building is considered in details, including: creating electronic lectures on description of technical characteristics of power engineering facilities and processes therein, generalized models of process devices, limited mode models, partial topology models (nodal models), shells for construction of process devices, integrated analysers of electric equipment, analytic software complexes and ACS.

Based on detailed analysis of implementation of applied software tools in the field of simulator-building at power plants and network enterprises of Russia, substantiated conclusions are presented on the software products under consideration, which have positive references from customers and known for various reasons as “simulators”; these, though meeting the requirements stipulated by regulatory documents, do not feature to the full extent the properties necessary for full-fledged training, namely, full-scale applicability, compatibility with all modes and topological adequacy, which largely reduces the efficiency of their application in commercial operation.

Being a large consumer of energy resources, the Moscow metropolis significantly changes the climate of its agglomeration. Climatic indicators changing in the medium term have an impact on each of the industries of the metropolis. The most common type of destructive effect is the temperature and humidity deformation of coatings, as a result of which the materials of the building envelope are rapidly destroyed under the influence of positive and negative temperatures. Both thermal pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases and water vapor produce adverse effects. The purpose of this article is to determine the degree of influence of these emissions on climate formation, as well as the possibility of their compensation by Moscow's green spaces. The tasks of analyzing trends in the absolute humidity of air depending on the additional volume of water vapor produced during the combustion of fuel at thermal power plants and in boiler rooms, the functioning of cooling towers, and the operation of motor vehicles are considered in sequence. The dependence of the actual number of clear days on air temperature is analyzed. The months with the longest covered sky are identified. The processes of cloud formation and changes in air temperature depending on the height and conditions of the city are determined. The formation of an area with an increased air temperature at an altitude of 60 to 400 meters above the city territory as a result of heat emissions is demonstrated. The dynamics and reserves of reducing greenhouse gas emissions are analyzed. The efficiency of the implementation of the state policy in the field of energy conservation and energy efficiency, which is focused primarily on the modernization of the power equipment of urban thermal power plants with the installation of modern combined-cycle power units, is shown. The insufficiency of the compensation mechanism of photosynthesis is demonstrated. The ways of climatic adaptation of the megalopolis are shown. Energy-saving measures to reduce gas consumption at sources of thermal energy are identified and the effects of their implementation are evaluated.

Topical issues of creating test benches for power drive units are considered. The results of testing a hydraulic dynamometer with the aim of clarifying its characteristics are presented. When creating test benches, it is important to choose the right power damping system with its accurate measurement. For these purposes hydraulic dynamometers (HD) are used. The domestic industry has not yet mass-produced them, experimental development is underway. In this regard, it seems appropriate to use imported diesel engines, for example, Japanese-made, of type CFT-9.0 manufactured by Fuchino Co Ltd. This equipment has a commercial preference over other foreign manufacturers. This article discusses the principle of HD operation, its design features, the identified shortcomings and ways to address them, the results of tests of the gas engine on a special bench of JSC «NPO CKTI».

The tests carried out made it possible to verify the operability of the acquired HD, to determine the dependence of the HD power on the rotation frequency, the dependence of the cooling water flow rate on the HD power and the dependence of the HD power on the steam flow rate to the steam turbine drive.

The results obtained indicate that the HD of type CFT-9.0 manufactured by «Fuchino Co Ltd» can be recommended as a hydrodynamic power absorber with its high-precision measurement in a wide range of rotation speed, modes and power consumption up to 8.5 MW.

The stop valve is one of the «critical» elements of the steam turbine installation, the heating conditions of which determine the reliability of the power unit as a whole. The stop valve for cogeneration steam turbines of subcritical parameters of "UTZ" is unified for families

T-110/120-130, T-185/210-130/15, ПT-140/165-30/15, P-100-130/15. The sequence of analysis of the valve design is presented for conditions, where only the static temperature and steam pressure at the inlet to the valve, the steam flow rate at the outlet of it, the restrictions for movement during heating are known. The results of the analysis of calculations of unsteady gas-thermodynamic and stress-strain state of the valve during the heating of the main steam line of the turbine T-110/120-130 from the cold state according to the standard instructions are shown. The calculations were carried out by the finite element method using a three-dimensional geometric model of the valve body with a slit filter. The height of the holes in the slit filter is 3.5 mm. The equations of the Nusselt criterion for the flange, the steam box, the lower half of the steam box and the fairing when using computers with limited computing resources are presented. It is shown that the peak of the maximum stresses occurs at the initial stage of the stop valve warming up on the inner (heated) surface of the stop valve body in the area of the flange and the cover. The maximum equivalent stresses are 300 MPa. The comparison of calculated temperatures and temperatures measured during the start-up at the CHP is presented; the temperature difference does not exceed 5–6%. It is proposed to analyze the stop valve reliability with a sequence given in this article in the design of new stop valves with significant differences from the existing prototypes.

During non-heating and transition period, most of cogeneration turbines operate with a lower heat extraction section actuated only due to a number of restrictions on the maximum and minimum pressure levels in the upper and lower heat extraction sections at operation of the turbine. For turbines of model T-250/300-240, the minimum permissible level of steam pressure in the upper heat extraction section, according to manufacturer data, is set to 0.06 MPa. During the non-heating and transition period, the supply water temperature is usually set in the range of 70–75°С. In order to maintain that temperature of supply water, the steam pressure in the upper heat extraction section should be below the minimum permissible level. As a result, the turbine operates with only the low-pressure heat extraction section actuated, which ensures operation without restrictions, but with a lower efficiency. The authors have introduced a set of measures, which enable to avoid those restrictions and implement two-stage heating of supply water. In this case, on connection of the upper heating extraction section, the pressure in the same is maintained at the minimum permissible level. Heat output characteristics are provided by having some of supply water delivered bypassing the group of network heaters. This operational mode enables to increase the turbine actual heat drop, to reduce the cooling steam flow into the low-pressure section and, accordingly, into the condenser, and to reduce temperature drops in network water heaters. Results of the research of operational modes for turbines of type T-250/300-240 in the non-heating and transition period with one and two-stage heating are provided. The economic efficiency of proposed operational modes was researched, which shows the effectiveness of those modes during non-heating and transition period. The limits of the efficiency of using these modes are determined.

Stable and reliable operation of oil-filled electrical equipment at power facilities depends largely on the quality of liquid insulation — transformer oil, which is influenced by environmental and operational factors, as a result of which it is flooded, aging with precipitation and oxidation products, which leads to short circuits and breakdowns. About 85% of transformer failures are due to a violation of the insulation system. To increase the service life of transformer oil, it is traditionally added an antioxidant additive ionol, the drawback of which is its high sensitivity to organosulfur compounds. Improving the quality of transformer oil is possible due to a more effective antioxidant additive. Previous studies have shown the ambiguous effect of organosulfur compounds on the performance of transformer oil. In this regard, as well as taking into account an increase in the production and processing of sulfur and sour crude oils, the effect of individual sulfides of various structural group composition on operational indicators, such as stability indicators against oxidation of the oil fraction, saponification number, ether number, absorbed oxygen amount, and corrosion activity, was studied at operating temperatures and in an electric field of 30 kV/cm.

During the study, it was found that cyclohexyldecylsulfide is the most active inhibitory additive to the oil fraction among individual organosulfur compounds. However, diphenylsulfide and diphenyldisulfide reduce stability against oxidation of the fraction, worsening its quality.

It was established that when aromatic cycles in a sulfide molecule are replaced by cyclohexyl cycles, the inhibitory ability increases, increasing the quality of transformer oil and, accordingly, the reliability of operation of electrical equipment as a whole.