A non-linear controller design for the evaporator of a heat recovery steam generator

Abstract

This article addresses a combined approach of sliding mode control (SMC) with generalized predictive control (GPC) to achieve fluid temperature control in the evaporator of a heat recovery steam generator. The evaporator is modelled as a first-order plus dead time process. The model is developed using the experimental data obtained at an actual power plant. An output error identification algorithm is used to minimize the error between the model and the experiments in different operating conditions. A GPC method is exploited to optimize the sliding surface and the coefficients of the switching functions used in SMC. The proposed control schemes are evaluated by thorough simulation for performance and robustness against parameter variations and disturbances.