Performance of Gas Turbine Power Plants Controlled by the Multiagent Scheme

Abstract

In recent years the idea of artificial intelligence has been focused around the concept of rational agent. An agent is an (software or hardware) entity that can receive signals from the environment and act upon that environment through output signals, trying to carry out an appropriate task. Seldom agents are considered as stand-alone systems; on the contrary, their main strength can be found in the interaction with other agents, constituting the so-called multiagent system. In the present work, a multiagent system was chosen as a control system of a single-shaft heavy-duty gas turbine in the multi input multi output mode. The shaft rotational speed (power frequency) and stack temperature (related to the overall gas turbine efficiency) represent the controlled variables; on the other hand, the fuel mass flow (VCE) and the variable inlet guide vanes (VIGV) have been chosen as manipulating variables. The results show that the multiagent approach to the control problem effectively counteracts the load reduction (including the load rejection condition) with limited overshoot in the controlled variables (as other control algorithms do) while showing a good level of adaptivity, readiness, precision, robustness, and stability.

Multi-Agent Fuzzy Logic Controller applied to One Lever Variable Pitch Turboprop Aircraft

“…Of course, the definition of the policy function that performs the mapping between perception and action play a key role. For the present proposed MAS, a fuzzy logic system has been employed as policy function [6]. The reasons for such a choice lie on the two following aspects:…”

“…For these reasons, a great interest has lately emerged towards the one-lever approach to manage the variable pitch propellers propulsion system. In the present work a Multi-Agent System (MAS), featured by Fuzzy Logic Agents, has been implemented to control the onelever management system of the aircraft propulsion [6]. In particular, the MAS algorithm has been applied in Multi Input Single Output mode, where the pitch propeller angle has been determined as a sum of all the agents' contributions.…”