A Model Predictive Control Design for Power Generation Heavy-Duty Gas Turbines

Abstract

The new electric power generation scenario, characterized by growing variability due to the greater presence of renewable energy sources (RES), requires more restrictive dynamic requirements for conventional power generators. Among traditional power generators, gas turbines (GTs) can regulate the output electric power faster than any other type of plant; therefore, they are of considerable interest in this context. In particular, the dynamic performance of a GT, being a highly nonlinear and complex system, strongly depends on the applied control system. Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers are the current standard for GT control. However, since such controllers have limitations for various reasons, a model predictive control (MPC) was designed in this study to enhance GT performance in terms of dynamic behavior and robustness to model uncertainties. A comparison with traditional PID-based controllers and alternative model-based control approaches (feedback linearization control) found in the literature demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach.Energies 2019, 12, 2182 2 of 17 measurements of all the state variables to solve the control problem. In most cases, EGT measurement is a difficult task due to the relevant time constant of a thermometer that can endure such a high-stress installation environment.In order to deal with a system state measure that is not exactly known, a robust approach has to be carried out. In this context, the sliding mode (SM) control theory of [5] was used for a reduced-order GT model in [7], while a more accurate fifth-order SM controller was designed in [8], which performed well. Given the complexity of the system, further efforts have to be made to overcome some current difficulties by exploring other modern control theories.Hence, the aim of this study was to develop a controller according to the model predictive control (MPC) technique in order to investigate the feasibility and the potential of this approach for heavy-duty GTs. In particular, the controller was developed following the theory presented in [9,10]. Some MPC approaches can be found in this line of research. For instance, an explicit MPC controller was designed for transient stability in a power system in [11]. An elementary predictive control was designed in [12] on the basis of a simplified single-input single-output (SISO) model developed in [13]. Two MPC-based strategies for a micro-GT-based combined cooling, heating, and power system are presented in [14], while an MPC strategy was applied to obtain micro-GT speed control in [15]. In [16], a multi-input multioutput (MIMO) nonlinear MPC control was developed. Other MPC applications can be found in the field of thrust engines for aircrafts, such as in [17,18]. However, very few MPC applications for heavy-duty GTs have been designed. For instance, [19] used a nonlinear MPC (NMPC) based on a simplified heavy-duty GT MIMO model for frequency and temperature control. In [20], the authors proposed an MPC approach for frequency control and NO x ...

Optimization of A Swirl with Impingement Compound Cooling Unit for A Gas Turbine Blade Leading Edge

“…Recently, heavy-duty gas turbines are always being subjected to new challenges to be efficient with the increasing energy demands [1]. Also, achieving the highest power and efficiency requires a high turbine entry gas temperature [2], which is excessively higher than the thermal resistance of the blade material.…”