One-Step Ahead Control Using Online Interpolated Transfer Function for Supplementary Control of Air-Fuel Ratio in Thermal Power Plants

Abstract

Recently, the environmental problem has become a global issue. The air to fuel ratio (AFR) in the combustion of thermal power plants directly influences pollutants and thermal efficiency. A research result was published showing that the AFR control performance of thermal power plants can be improved through supplementary control using dynamic matrix control (DMC). However, online optimization of DMC needs an extra computer server in implementation. This paper proposes a practical AFR control with one-step ahead control which does not use online optimization and can be implemented directly in existing distributed control system (DCS) of thermal power plants. Closed-loop transfer function models at three operating points are independently developed offline. Then, an online transfer function using interpolation of offline models is applied at each sampling step. A simple one-step ahead control with online transfer function is applied as a supplementary control of AFR. Simulations with two different type power plants, a 600 MW oil-fired drum-type power plant and a 1000 MW ultra supercritical (USC) coal-fired once-through type power plant, are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed control structure. Simulation results show that the proposed supplementary control can effectively improve the conventional AFR control performance of power plants.