what is the life of a boiler in thermal power plant?
The boilers in these type of plants are huge built in place units that can easily be repaired and or upgraded as needed. They could have a life of 100 years or more. It is really a matter of repair versus replacement costs. In today's environmental atmosphere, the limits can be more a factor of permitting requirements and needed pollution control up grades. Some older boilers might not lend themselves to these type of modifications.
As oil field suggests... it can be quite long but it depends on many factors. Among those many factors: What materials of construction were used? How clean is the fuel source? High temperature oxidation is a major source of failure in boiler tubes. There is a substantial body of scientific and engineering analysis of boiler design and life cycle issues. Early in the development of steam boilers, massive explosions were quite common. This provided the motivation for engineers and material scientists to investigate these failures and develop standards for design, construction, and maintenance in order to prevent these terrible events.
