Development of cost correlations for the economic assessment of power plant equipment

A comprehensive cost correlation analysis was conducted based on available cost correla-tions, and new equipment cost correlation models were proposed based on QUE$TOR modeling. Cost correlations for various types of equipment such as pumps, compressors, heat exchangers, air coolers, and pressure vessels were generated on the basis of extracted cost data. The models were derived on the basis of robust multivariable regression with the aim of minimizing the residuals by using the genetic algorithm. The proposed compressor models for both centrifugal and reciprocating types showed that the Turton cost estimation for carbon steel compressor and Matche’s and Mhhe’s data were compatible with the generated model. According to the results, the cost trend in the Turton correlation for carbon steel had a somewhat lower estimation than these correlations. Further, the cost trend of the Turton correlation for carbon steel pressure vessels was close to the presented model trend for both bullet and sphere types. The Turton cost trend for U-tube shell-and-tube heat exchangers with carbon steel shell and stainless steel tube was close to the proposed heat exchanger model. Furthermore, the Turton cost trend for the flat-plate heat exchanger using carbon steel was similar to the proposed model with a slight difference.