The article presents the experience of using software programs for calculating, analyzing, and modeling electrical engineering and electrical power systems by students of various energy specialties, as well as trainees of professional retraining programs in the field of Electrical Power and Electrical Engineering. An assessment of the current situation regarding the use of traditional and new information technologies by employees working in the energy sector is given. The drawbacks and gaps in the knowledge of trainees being the reason of the ineffective use of computer technology in various fields of their activity are analyzed. The issues of improvement of the basic and additional education programs in the field of Electric Power Engineering at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute are discussed. The ways of applying active teaching methods for acquiring skills in solving production problems using information technologies are shown.

A software package consisting of the TETRAN-PRO and the COND-KINET-1 proprietary computer codes, as well as computational methods and models they are based on, is described. The TETRAN-PRO code calculates the composition and thermodynamic properties of a multicomponent reacting system under thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, including products of combustion or pyrolysis of organic and composite fuels. The difference of this code from similar ones is the use of the method of prevailing components, which is most effective as to convergence, computation time, and the range of parameters used. The code includes the necessary database of the original thermodynamic properties for 3000 individual substances. The TETRAN-PRO code’s capabilities are demonstrated by the results from calculation of mercury vapors’ conversion in the combustion products of Kuznetsk and Berezovo coals. The COND-KINET-1 calculates the parameters of a condensing aerosol formed during the volume condensation in a vapor-gas mixture f low. The process is described with a system of moment equations for the droplet size distribution function, which is closed by the equations of motion and energy. A comprehensive approach, thermodynamic and kinetic, has been formulated to the description of the volume condensation in multicomponent reacting systems based on the TETRAN-PRO and COND-KINET-1 codes. The approach’s capabilities are demonstrated by the example of numerically simulating the formation of environmentally dangerous submicron particles in burning coals according to the condensation mechanism. Data on the concentration and size distribution of the generated particles are obtained. The predicted data on the fractional composition of particles are compared with the experiment.

A review of the work devoted to studying the service life of power equipment’s elements shows that important characteristics, such as silicon content, polydispersity, and particle shape of transported materials, are not taken into account in the formulas for calculating the abrasive wear of the hydrotransport pipelines of TPP’s ash- and slag-removal systems. There are separate experimental values of the coefficients of relative abrasiveness of ash and slag materials, which differ significantly. Abrasive wear leads to a decrease in the reliability of the hydraulic ash-removal system, forced equipment downtime, environmental degradation in places where slurry pipelines are depressurized, and lower economic efficiency of ash and slag transportation. The causes of increased abrasive wear are considered, which leads to a decrease in the service life of pipelines of ash- and slag-removal systems in thermal power plants. The main factors affecting the abrasive wear of pipelines are identified, and their impact is evaluated. It is shown that one of the key characteristics that affect the wear rate of slurry pipelines is the abrasiveness of the transported material, which, in turn, depends on the content of silicon oxides as well as on the shape and size of the ash particles. The results of calculating the specific abrasive wear of slurry pipelines for various speeds and mass concentration of pulp during its transportation from boilers in which three types of coal of various characteristics are used as fuel are presented. The results can be used in planning the timing of repair and maintenance work in order to increase the overhaul period of hydraulic ash-removal systems.